Lost City
by Moon Step
Summary: YYHInu When a “friend” contracts a fatal illness, Kagome’s determined to do anything to cure him, even if that involves traveling to the fabled Lost City in a forest that no one has ever returned from. Now all she needs is a team to go with her...
1. Chapter One

_FYI, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) story._

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho!

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**Lost City **

**Chapter One**

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"Inuyasha, why didn't you tell me?"

Kagome sat by his side, regarding him with a worried frown. He had been unconscious for days; his state, hardly changing. His chest rose and fell slowly, the only testament that he was indeed still alive. The healers had told her that he had overexerted himself in his state of illness. Had they but known he was so deadly ill, they would have advised him to take it easy. But of course, he had only let a few people know about his condition and even then, he had not done it by choice.

She let out a shaky breath, resting her chin in her palm as she gazed at her silver-haired betrothed. He looked as though he were sleeping. If only that were the case. "If you had told me you were sick…"

"Beg your pardon for speaking so boldly, but you still wouldn't have been able to do anything if he had told you, Lady Kagome," she heard someone behind her say.

Turning around, she saw her servant, Yukina, standing near the door. When she bowed slightly to her, Kagome waved her hand at her. "I've already told you before, you don't have to be so formal." She turned back to look at Inuyasha. "I just wish he had said _something_… should've told me at least…"

Yukina came to her side, standing beside her while she, too, gazed at the young lord. "He kept it hidden from us all… He knew what it was and he knew that there's no known cure for this fatal illness. Maybe he didn't want you to feel sorry for him." She glanced at Kagome. "Besides, you weren't on the friendliest terms."

Kagome gave her a small, sad smile. Yes, it was true they had gotten off on the wrong foot… which was a great understatement. Their marriage had been arranged by their parents when both were children so that peace could be brought to their lands, though neither had liked it. However, both could not complain, since it was their job to keep the people happy and calm. Not to mention, neither would go against their parents' will.

Inuyasha and Kagome had met for the first time not too long ago, but the meeting was not a pleasant one. Kagome had tried to be friendly, but Lord Inuyasha didn't even go that far. From the start, he schemed to try and get _her_ to break the betrothal so it would be _her _fault. It was his parent's wish to have them married and he wasn't about to go against it, so he had tried to find a way to make her leave. She found out about his plans evidentially and was angry at first, then thought of plots of her own to get _him_ to break their engagement.

And so the war of the betrothed had begun. Until it stopped now.

Yukina watched her, wondering if she would reply. Finally, a minute or two later, Kagome spoke. "It's true we weren't very nice to each other, but if we're supposed to marry, he should have…" She cut off abruptly.

If he was dying, they wouldn't be married and what she had hoped for for months would come to pass. Then how come the idea of it made her heart clench? She didn't want to marry him… but not like this. Definitely not like this.

"He can't die. I won't let him. I still have to repay him for all the dirty tricks he pulled on me." She blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were trying to form.

Her servant's eyes softened, though she looked down at the floor, her hands clasped in front of her. "I'm sorry, my la—Kagome. We had gathered our best healers, but none could cure him. We knew that already. This disease has plagued our people for centuries and there is no cure for it. We're just lucky not too many people are affected by it and it is not contagious."

Kagome drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she hid her face. "…There is one cure for it," she said, her voice muffled.

Yukina's head shot up, her eyes widening as she looked at her mistress. "You couldn't mean…"

Kagome abruptly got up from her seat, heading for the door. She couldn't stand being in the room with him for too long or else… or else she knew that she would begin to cry, which she refused to do. He wasn't going to die, because she wouldn't let him. She wouldn't. So what was the use crying?

She was in her own chambers in a few minutes, though she didn't even bother closing the door. Yukina was there only a few moments after her, closing the door and locking it while Kagome began to pace back and forth.

"You couldn't be thinking of going into that deadly forest, could you?" Yukina asked, suddenly very worried. "You are a very smart young lady, so you wouldn't be thinking of going into such a dangerous place."

Kagome glanced at the girl. "And what if I was?"

A moment of silence.

"I—I would have to stop you," she blurted out.

"Even if it were to save your lord? To save your future king? Once he marries, he becomes king. Would you stop someone from saving him?" The servant girl kept her mouth shut, not knowing what to say to that. "I've seen someone I care about die from that illness before." She shook her head. "Not again."

That sparked her interest. From what Yukina had seen and heard, the two young nobles hardly took a liking to one another. "So then you do care for him?"

Kagome stopped in her tracks and avoided the other girl's eyes. "…We…we didn't start off that well and it didn't get better… but somewhere along the way, I did start caring about him." She gave a short, unhappy laugh. "I guess I didn't realize it until this happened." She met Yukina's eyes then. "Foolish of me, right? Especially since he hates me."

Yukina's eyes seemed to shift nervously then, as though she knew something Kagome did not. Then the unease was gone and Kagome dismissed the odd occurrence.

She began pacing again, shaking her head furiously as she did, making her long black hair whip around her face. Talking mostly to herself, she said, "I couldn't save him, I was too young to understand then. But I'll save Inuyasha. Even if I have to go through that forest."

"Is there no way to make you reconsider, my lady? Yes, there _might _be a cure there, but I'm sure you've heard the stories…"

Kagome recited the words that had long since been drilled into her mind. "'Deep in the most deadly of forests, protected by the creatures of nightmares and lethal curses, is the lost city of ancient times. Within this lost city is held wonderful and terrible magic of healing and destruction, untold secrets, and immeasurable treasure. Many have sought it out, but this fascinating city has only brought death to those who find it. None who journey there come back alive.'"

The noble took in a deep breath and let it out shakily. "Everyone knows the legend of the Lost City. Even me, who didn't grow up in this city, which is near to the forest that holds it somewhere in its depths. Or so they say. Even so… I've been thinking about this for the last few days. It's worth it to try." She stopped pacing and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Yukina with vulnerable eyes. "I have to try."

Her resolve was set, Yukina could see that. Still, if she was to let Kagome go through with this… she would make sure she had no doubts in her mind. "You said it yourself, 'none who journey there come back alive'. What good will it do to have you both dead? You can at least spare your own life."

Kagome's eyes took on a somewhat angry look. "I don't want my friend to die! …And I'll do whatever it takes to keep him alive."

Yukina smiled, admiring her strong determination, though could not help the worry she felt. She knelt in front of Kagome, the noble she was serving and her friend. Kagome blinked, unsure what was happening. "Then I won't stop you. And I think I know someone who can help."

Kagome smiled too and hugged her tightly. Something occurring to her, she moved slightly back. "Help with what?"

"Surely you weren't thinking of going alone?"

Kagome looked sheepish for a moment. Seeing Yukina's small frown, she said, "well, I had mostly gotten to the 'okay, I'll definitely go and find the cure' and hadn't really thought passed that."

"You'll need people to go with you, people to guard you since there are very horrible things in that forest." Her face took on a thoughtful look. "Though it'll be hard to find willing people. Everyone knows its reputation."

"Can't I just recruit them, not tell them where we're going, then yell 'surprise' when we reach the edge of the forest?" Kagome asked hopefully. Seeing Yukina's face, she added, "oh, don't give me that look, I was only joking." _Well, half-joking_, she thought.

"So who's this person that can help?"

* * *

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as a few men glanced at her with looks on their faces that made her cheeks burn. She pulled her cloak closer around her, and not because she was cold, though her skin hummed with a nervousness that did give her a chill.

It was a bad idea, coming to a tavern alone at night, but it had been the only time she could sneak out of the lord's manor. The idea of it had been fine, but as she was actually on her way, her uneasiness began.

"I'm assuming you, my lovely lady, are Kagome?"

A man sat across from her, looking no older than twenty, though there did seem to be a boyish charm about him. He was well built though lean, with black hair that was just long enough to make a small ponytail. Mischievous blue eyes watched her from across the table, taking in her appearance as she took in his.

"Now tell me, how many girls have you said that to before you found me?" Kagome asked dryly.

He had been smiling pleasantly before, but at her words, he grinned. "Only two. And I assume from your response that you are indeed her."

Kagome nodded. "And you must be Miroku."

He nodded in turn as he seemed to look her over once more, though differently this time. Before, he had looked her over like anyone would do to someone they had just met. Now, he looked her over as… well, as a man does a woman.

Her cheeks took on a pink color. Not many had dared do so before, mainly because of her nobility. Perhaps Yukina had told the messenger not to mention Kagome's title? Otherwise he wouldn't dare to look her over in the way he was doing now.

"I see my cousin has chosen a fine wife. You are very lovely and not too skinny, like many other noble women. Your body's perfect for bearing sons."

…or she could be wrong. What kind of polite conversation was _that_?

Her cheeks flamed red even worse than before, which made Miroku grin. She looked even cuter when she was embarrassed.

She wasn't even sure how to retort, when his first words hit her. "Wait, cousin? You're Inuyasha's cousin?" Kagome asked, and loudly.

Heads turned at the mention of the lord's name and Miroku kicked her lightly under the table, causing her to squeak. "Keep your voice down," he told her in a hushed voice. "There is a reason Inuyasha and I have no living relatives, as you probably found out over these few months you've been here."

Kagome nodded. Before now, she had thought that Inuyasha the only one in his family still alive while in the meantime assassins had tried to give Inuyasha a nice visit with his relatives in the afterlife. There were many people who desired the throne Inuyasha would receive once he married and therefore many people who wanted him dead. …Now it seemed they would not waste their money on assassins once word got out that he was dying.

Miroku continued. "I've only met him a few times when I was younger, but I decided to disappear. Too many people in our family were being killed and I was far from the throne anyway, I wouldn't be missed." He smiled, but it was not at all happy. "I'm not too far away from it now."

She knew what he meant. If anything happened to Inuyasha, technically he was next in line for the throne. But if none knew he existed since they assumed he was dead, he was safe from the danger.

He might have gone on, but a woman came to the table, giving Kagome her drink and effectively ending the conversation. Kagome wasn't sure what her drink was when she had asked for it, but it was warm and tasted good, so she did not care. She sat there, holding the mug between her cold hands and taking a sip every now and then while Miroku flirted with the woman.

The woman jabbed him in the shoulder playfully before leaving, off to get Miroku's drink. He turned his head to watch her walk away, forgetting Kagome was even there until she cleared her throat.

He turned back to her, not even seeming the least bit embarrassed about watching the girl. "So let's get down to business. What do I owe the honor of meeting with you?"

Kagome set her mug down, keeping her hands on it as she gazed into the liquid. "I… I'm in need of some people to go with me. Guards, or something like that, to protect me."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you have many guards at the palace. Actually, I'm surprised you got here without any tagging along. Why do you need my help?"

She shook her head. "No. I need… special people." She frowned while in thought. "The guards at the palace… they would either stop me or be too afraid to go… It's a tough job. Few would want to accept it."

Miroku sighed heavily. "Stop dallying around and just say it. It'll be easier that way."

She took a deep breath and looked up, meeting his eyes so that he could see the resolve in them. "I'm going to the Lost City."

At first, he searched her face as though trying to find the humor in her words. When he realized she _wasn't_ joking, he gazed at her as though she had just sprouted a second head. He spoke the only words that came to mind. "You're insane."

The woman came back, all smiles and her voice light as she gave Miroku his drink. Neither heard her words or acknowledged her in the least. Their eyes were locked, neither moving. He dismissed the woman without looking at her, no longer in the mood for playing around. She looked put out, but left the two alone.

"I've heard many strange rumors about you and dismissed them, but this…"

"Please, I… I have to go!" Kagome blurted out urgently.

"So many have gone… no _tried_ to go there, and none have returned! Why would you _willing_ go into that forest? Do you have a death wish?" Miroku asked her.

"I don't care how dangerous it is!" She paused. "Well, I do and that's why I need people, but it doesn't matter. I have to get there."

"You'll be eaten alive in a matter of hours, _if_ you're lucky enough to last that long."

She had a stubborn look on her face. "Oh? And how do you know? Ever go in there?"

"No, but—"

Kagome shook her head. "People say a lot of things, who knows what is true and what is just superstition?" He had no answer for her. "I have a good reason for going."

"And what's that?" Miroku asked. He wanted to know what would make her so crazy as to _want_ to go into the forest while knowing its reputation.

She looked around the half-empty tavern before leaning over the table toward Miroku. Feeling compelled and curious, he met her halfway, leaning over his side.

"What I am about to tell you, you can't tell anyone," she murmured. He nodded, but she shook her head, "your word. I need your word."

His face lost the look that said 'I think you're out of your mind' and became serious. "I promise."

"Inuyasha… Inuyasha is dying," Kagome confided, her voice so soft that even he, inches away, could hardly hear. But hear he did. His eyes widened considerably. "He has contracted an illness… the one that has no cure. Except…"

"Except one said to be in the Lost City," Miroku finished for her. His eyes softened when he looked at her. "Seconds ago I thought you were insane. Now I understand and admire your determination and strong heart." He shook his head in admiration. "I envy the man you marry."

She looked away. "I don't love Inuyasha."

Miroku looked at her in surprise. "Then why do this for him? Risk your life for someone you don't even love?"

"I may not love him… but I at least think of him as a friend. Besides, if he dies—and since no one knows you are alive and heir to the throne—then I have a bad feeling that the people who take over won't be as kind as your family has been. Save Inuyasha, save the people."

He shook his head once more "You will make one man very happy someday." A lecherous smile came upon his face. "Would you mind it being me?"

She kicked him under the table, though not too hard since she knew he was joking. Or at least, she hoped he was.

"So will you help me?" she inquired, her eyes hopeful.

He sighed. "I don't entirely agree with this and I don't think _you_ should go. But I already know I can't change your mind. The least I can do is find you a team that can protect you and keep you alive as long as possible."

_As long as possible_, Kagome thought, musing over his last words. _If that doesn't inspire confidence, what will?_

Leaving her sardonic thoughts behind, Kagome finished her drink and stood up, her head buzzing slightly. Miroku stood up as well, putting money down to pay for both their drinks. He began to walk away before Kagome called to him. "Where are you going?"

He turned back slightly to regard her. "To go get some recruits, of course. The night is still young. I could find you a whole team by daybreak."

"I'll come too," Kagome informed him. When he opened his mouth to protest, she continued. "If these people are going to journey with me, I'd like have some say in who stays and who goes."

He walked out of the tavern without another word to her, Kagome tagging along not too far behind.

"This should be interesting," Miroku murmured to himself.

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**A/N: **This will _not_ be an Inuyasha/Kagome story. Some aspects of it will be, but not overall. There's going to be someone else for Kagome (smile). 


	2. Chapter Two

**AN**: All the main characters in this story will fit into the ages between seventeen and twenty-two.

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**Lost City**

**Chapter Two**

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"No." 

"But—"

"_No_," Kagome said, crossing her arms stubbornly.

She spoke just loud enough to be heard over the noise in the dimly lit tavern, filled with happily drunk people. Women in almost too revealing dresses danced as music played and greedy hands tried to grab them, but they knew just how to teasingly avoid them, which only made the men want them more.

Miroku protested against her obvious refusal. "He's strong, built like a brick wall—"

"And too stupid to function, not to mention he looks like he'd murder me in my sleep, then roast me under a nice open flame before he decided to consume me!" Kagome finished for him.

"You have too vivid an imagination," he muttered to himself, then to her, "and you're making this far too difficult."

"I'm _sorry_ if I don't want to hire that," she said, pointing to an ogre-looking man who looked like he was bullying someone, "or that," pointing to another that Miroku had mentioned before, who was currently picking his nose, "or—"

Miroku massaged his aching temples. "I get your point," he interrupted, "but there's a difference between choosy and fussy."

She looked at him, hands on hips. "Oh? And what's that? Aren't those just synonyms of each other?"

"Not where you're concerned." He leaned against the wall near the door. Neither of them had been able to get seats in the crowded tavern. "Look, we met at that nice tavern that most of the richer people like to go to, but this is for everyday people and these men tend to get… rough. But that's what you need, don't you? Tough people who can hold their own while being able to guard you at the same time."

"Which I don't think any people here are capable of. You say you want to get me a good team, but these people aren't it. Not to mention, if we brought up the job to any of the people _you_ have just picked out, they'd either laugh in disbelief, wet their pants, or run away screaming." She headed for the door. "I'm leaving. If these are the kind of people you want to send me out with, I'll find my own team."

He caught her arm before she could leave and was about to say something when his attention was taken away from her and placed somewhere else. Noticing the change in attitude, Kagome turned around and followed his gaze to the center of the tavern. The room had hushed almost completely, aside from a loud, obnoxious youth spitting insults at the ogre-like man he held by his collar.

Kagome ignored most of the conversation between the two with its foul qualities, nothing like the banter she was used to. She had heard the soldiers and guards curse before, but that was nothing compared to that she was hearing just then. Near the end was when she really started to pay attention.

"You think you're so fucking high and mighty," the younger man said, his brown eyes blazing. "Go pick on someone your own size."

"I could, but first I think I'll beat up a punk like you," Ogre replied, roughly taking the man's hands off him. He closed the little distance between them by taking a threatening step forward. The other man did not look impressed.

"You're not worth my time," Punk retorted, putting his hands in his pockets. He began walking away to the disappointment of the crowd since they had wanted to see a fight. They regained hoped, however, after seeing how red Ogre's face had turned after Punk dismissed him.

The punk got only two feet away before the other man swung at him from behind. Kagome almost called out to warn him, caught up in the moment, but did not even have to. It seemed Punk expected this, since he easily dodged and grabbed the meaty arm that went past him. He turned, twisting the arm with him. Ogre cried out in pain.

He punched the bigger man so that he flew backwards and into a table, sending food and alcohol everywhere as he knocked over and broke glasses and plates. The girls nearby squeaked and backed away, giving men nearby an excuse to put their arms around them and "protect" them from danger.

With a few more kicks and punches from Punk, the fight was easily over, without Ogre ever having landed a blow, though not for a lack of trying. His efforts, however, had been in vain and only made him look weaker as the younger of the two avoided each and every one. Kagome was impressed. The bigger man had looked extremely tough, but the second man had taken him down easily, despite the obvious size difference.

"Him," Kagome said without looking at Miroku, keeping her eyes on the punk. "I want him."

Miroku raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

The beaten man had left sullenly while the men of the taverns jabbed at him for his lousy performance. A crowd had formed around the winner of the fight, but after he dismissed them by glaring and then completely ignoring their presence, the crowd dissipated and was gone by the time Kagome began walking toward him with Miroku beside her. Punk had seated himself in a booth and no one dared go near him again—besides them, of course. He was looking down at his drink and did not even glance up when they stopped in front of him.

"I have a proposition for you, Yusuke," Miroku declared before Kagome had a chance to speak. As it was, she looked at him, somewhat startled. He knew him?

Yusuke looked up at him with a half-smile. "Hey Miroku," he greeted. "What are you doing here? You're usually out chasing a fine pair of legs about this time." He glanced at Kagome, looking her over in much the same way Miroku had when they first met. _Men_, Kagome thought. "Or have you already found some?"

Miroku shook his head as he took a seat on one side of Yusuke. Kagome did the same, sitting on the other, only not as close. "No, she's not that kind of girl," Miroku informed him. Then as an after thought, he looked at Kagome, an eyebrow raised. "Or are you?"

She glared at him, which would have been a lot more effective if she wasn't blushing so hard. Both of them laughing at her current state did not help the situation much either.

"So what about this 'proportion'?" Yusuke asked.

"Proposition," Kagome corrected, trying her best not to smile. She had just seen him throw around some guy that had been twice his size; it was obvious he had a short fuse.

"Same difference," he replied with a shrug.

"This girl's name is Kagome," Miroku introduced. "Yusuke, Kagome. Kagome, Yusuke."

Yusuke nodded to her in acknowledgement and she did the same, a little awkwardly. She was not use to such informality during introductions, though it had been her own choice. Miroku had not mentioned her nobility as they had discussed.

Kagome did not want anyone giving her special treatment or any other complications that might arise if they knew who she was. Giving her name, however, was not a problem. No one would know she was Inuyasha's betrothed from her name alone. She had only come to the city a few months ago and everyone outside Inuyasha's home did not know her real name, only her title as Lady of the Higurashi House. Other than that, those that gossiped about her just called her 'his betrothed'.

As for the fact that she was doing all this to cure her friend (who just happened to be the future king), she was keeping to herself. Why she was going, at the moment, wasn't that important. Convincing people to go with her was.

"She," Miroku continued, "wants to go—"

"Needs," she corrected.

He gave her a look. "She _needs_ to go somewhere very dangerous and is in need of people to look after her."

Yusuke laced his fingers together behind his head and leaned back. "And what makes you think I'd want that kinda job? I don't protect people, I normally beat them up. And," he informed them as he took his hands away from his head, revealing a gold bracelet he held in one of them, "I steal from them."

Hey, that was _her_ bracelet.

"Give that back!" she snapped, snatching the bracelet from him and putting it back on. While glaring at him and the smile on his face, she went on, "You didn't strike me as the thief type, what with your loud mouth. Thieves are usually silent and quick."

He shrugged. "The only thieving I do is pick-pocketing or beating up a few guys—if they really piss me off—for their money. None of the big stuff, just what I need to get by."

"Still want him?" Miroku questioned Lady Kagome.

She looked at Yusuke for a few more moments, brown eyes meeting brown, before looking over at Miroku. She had a feeling she might regret this but… "I do."

"Alright then, straight to the point. Kagome here wants to go to the Lost City."

Apparently this was the wrong time for Yusuke to have taken a sip of his drink. His eyes widened at Miroku's words and he spit liquid all over the table. Miroku clapped him on the back with an amused look while Yusuke gasped for breath.

When he could breathe again, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and stared at Kagome with a look almost identical to the one Miroku had given her earlier that night. "You're nuts."

"Think of all the things you'll see…" Miroku stated, trying to convince him.

"Think of all the monsters that could eat me," the pickpocket replied dryly.

"All that treasure…"

"The thousand different ways I could _die_ horrible, painful deaths."

"The—" Miroku began and Yusuke looked ready to retort anything he said.

"Alright, this could go on for awhile," Kagome interrupted. "The main thing is, I need to get to this 'Lost City' for my own reasons. You can either come, or not. But it'll be one hell of an adventure with monsters you could beat up and all." When he didn't look convinced, she continued with her last shot. "Tell me, do you ever get bored of everyday life? Same thing day after day, nothing ever changing? Well, this is your chance to _change_ all of that. It won't be easy and I don't know what to expect, but isn't that better then to be stuck in the same routine all your life? Wouldn't it be better to remember that once you did something exciting?"

Kagome had not even realized it, but somewhere along the way of her speech she had stood up and, with her hands on the table, leaned toward him. Her face slightly red when she noticed people looking her way, she sat down again and took a deep breath.

Yusuke stared at her oddly for a minute with a look she couldn't decipher and Kagome dreaded he would still turn her down. But in the end, he nodded and said, "I'll go." His face turned back to its normal arrogance. "Besides, I won't let some 'monster' beat me. I'm not that easily to kill."

Kagome felt like hugging him, she was so happy and relieved he had agreed, but restrained herself. Instead, she smiled happily. "And don't worry, you'll be paid highly for your services." She was doing all this to save the future king. If—when they came back, money would be no object to pay those who assisted her.

She saw Miroku shake his head with a smile, which made her curious. "What is it?" she inquired.

"What do you need me for? Seems to me you'll be able to get a fine team together on your own." He looked around the tavern. "We probably won't find anyone else in here tonight since you disliked everyone I picked out." He rose from his seat, as did Kagome and Yusuke, following his lead.

"Then where are we going now?" Kagome questioned him once they were outside. She sped up a bit so she could walk beside him and Yusuke walked on her other side, hands in his pockets as he glanced at her.

"Wherever the road may take us," Miroku joked.

However, his words were more or less true.

Grunting and yelling drew their attention to a side street after a few minutes of walking. The two men, used to street fights, were about to just walk past, but Kagome went right past them and toward the fight. The two exchanged a look and followed behind her, having no other choice. Already their job to keep her safe was beginning.

"Is she always like this?" Yusuke asked Miroku as they followed. "Help the helpless and all that?"

"How should I know, I only just met her tonight," Miroku replied.

"_What_!"

In the center of the street, just within the light of a street lamp, stood a woman, surrounded by angry-looking men. The woman looked around Kagome's age, though she seemed taller and stronger than the noble. Her high ponytail kept her hair out of her face, giving them a view of her unwavering determination, not even the slightest bit shaken. There was no escape for the woman since the men had formed a ring around her, but she did not look at all frightened from what they could see of her stance, arms crossed.

"We should help her," Kagome told the men behind her.

While Yusuke looked like he wasn't too keen on the idea, Miroku replied with a grin. "A damsel in need of rescuing, my favorite type of damsel."

The woman said something to one of the men and although they were still too far away to hear, they could tell the man was not pleased by her words. He lunged forward, but she easily moved away, making him fall into his companion behind her. More words escaped her lips and after one man growled something, knives suddenly appeared in their hands.

The group of three hurried closer, while the girl avoided the knives that tried to slice her. Abruptly Yusuke stopped and held out his arm, preventing Miroku and Kagome from going further. Kagome stopped and glared at the first addition to her team. Why was he stopping them? They had to help the girl!

"I don't think she needs any help," Yusuke said with clear amusement in his voice.

Kagome looked back at the woman and was surprised to see two of her attacker already on the ground, knocked out. The woman jumped back when a blade tried to slice her stomach, then grabbed the wrist of the hand that held it. She twisted it, causing the man to drop the knife and she pulled at his arm, swinging him into another attacker.

The fighting woman kicked the dropped weapon away and went on to the last man with a knife. While she was dealing with him, the man she had first angered got up from the ground, seemingly unnoticed by her. She swiftly got rid of the armed man by kicking him in the stomach, causing him to double over. Nearly at the same time, she drew the sword that was concealed at her side and pointed it at the man behind her without even a glance his way. He froze as she turned slowly around, moving the sword so that it was pointed at his neck.

The woman shook her head to move her bangs out of her eyes, giving her a clear view of the last man standing. She lifted the sword and the man cringed, but instead of striking him, she brought the sword down near his side, making the bag that was tied to his waist fall to the ground with a _thunk_. She sheathed her sword and picked up the fallen bag, not even looking at the man as she did it. In only moments the man had gotten up and ran, seeing as how his friends had already left swiftly without him.

"Weak cowards," they heard her mutter as the last one disappeared.

From behind a shop, a boy around the age of ten came out of hiding, regarding the woman nervously. She wiped the sweat off her brow before holding out the bag to the boy.

"Here." When he was hesitant to take it, she added, "It's yours, right? Then take it."

With a sharp nod, he took the bag and after opening it up, began counting what was inside. Then he put his hand inside, coming back out with a few coins. "Thank you," he said after giving them to her and then quickly scampered off.

The woman watched him go off before counting the money and pocketing it. It was then that she turned around and saw her audience of three. She looked at them, a bit startled, not knowing they had been there.

Seeing Kagome's bright face, Miroku smiled wryly and was about to make an offer to the woman fighter, but the woman spoke first.

"Who are you?"

* * *

"So let me get this straight," the woman Sango, fighter-for-hire, began.

The group sat in the small main room of her house, the only other rooms being two equally small bedrooms. However, it did not feel cramped. It felt… cozy. The small fire that gave off warmth only added to the feeling.

She continued. "You," she pointed to Miroku, "are helping her," she nodded her head toward Kagome, "to get people like you," she moved her hand so that she was pointing at Yusuke, "to go with her through the forest and to the Lost City. And you want me to join your little escapade?" She shook her head, leaning back in her chair. "You're all crazy." She looked to Kagome. "Especially you."

"You can't tell me you're not curious," Kagome informed her.

The fighter shook her head. "I never said that, but the old saying 'curiosity killed the cat' suddenly makes more sense to me. I have no wish to die and going into that forest is pure suicide. How do you even know the Lost City exists anyway? What with all the people going into that forest and dying, all we've ever heard is myths about it, no evidence whatsoever."

"The more people we have, the safer we'll be," Miroku responded, ignoring the last of what she said and the way she questioned its existence. They would deal with that if the need arose.

He looked around the small home, not too far from being shambles. "Kagome will pay you for her protection as well. And if we do find it, think of all the treasure in the city's depths. You'd be able to buy yourself a palace."

She was not at all offended by the obvious implication. She already knew her dwelling was not exactly spectacular, but hearing his last sentence, she muttered, "Yeah, that's what he thought." Louder, she said, "I'm not interested in wealth."

"But the Lost City… imagine being able to say you actually saw it, stood in it," he cajoled.

"I don't care about those kinds of things. Not to mention even if I did, no one would believe me," she pointed out.

"So you won't come with us?" Kagome inquired, dejected.

Sango glanced at Kagome and seeing her hopefully, pleading eyes, she shifted in her chair as though she were uncomfortable. "I didn't say that either." She put her elbows on the table and rested her face in her hands, letting out an exasperated sigh. "You're asking a lot." She took her hands away so that she could look at them, but when her eyes met Kagome's, they locked. "I need time."

Kagome shook her head. "We leave as soon as possible."

Inuyasha's state was almost to the critical point… who knew how much longer he would last? It was best they left as soon as was plausible so they could cure him before it was too late.

"We do?" Yusuke asked, a bit surprised. He had never been informed when they were leaving, but had assumed he would have at least a little more time.

"If we can get enough people by tomorrow, we'll leave then," Miroku responded, sharing a look with Kagome.

Sango bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. She wanted to go, but at the same time also was not too fond of going out on a wild goose chase. The adventure, however, was appealing to her; disappointed when there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, was not. Still, this was a chance to finally use her fighting skills for something challenging. Maybe…

"I'll go," came a voice from behind.

The men and Kagome turned around while Sango just looked over to her cousin, leaning against the doorway. Her arms crossed, she pushed off the frame and walked further into the room.

"What?" Kagome asked, taken back.

The stranger pushed some hair that had fallen in her face away. "I said, I'll go," she repeated.

"How much did you hear?" Sango inquired.

"Enough to know they're going to the Lost City. I'm coming along." That was it. There was no asking in her voice. She had decided she wanted to come along and they couldn't stop her.

"If you want to go just because of your brother, Shizuru, rethink this, please," Sango told her cousin. However, her words were ignored.

"Can you fight?" Yusuke asked.

Shizuru shifted her gaze from where it had been on Sango to Yusuke. "No, but I'll find a way to be useful."

Miroku and Yusuke looked to Kagome, awaiting her judgment. She waved her hand in an indifferent way. "The more, the merrier."

Sango slumped in her chair as she sighed inwardly, giving in. She might as well have thrown up her hands and said 'I surrender'. "I guess that means I'll be coming too."

Kagome smiled while thinking how this night was turning out to be a good one. Two more recruits, three in all, five counting herself and Miroku. Now the only questions were, how many more people would they need and where would they find them?

Miroku, leaning in closer to Kagome, murmured to her, "Why is it the one person easiest to convince is the one we didn't ask to go?"

Kagome grinned at his comment. "Just lucky, I guess."

Yusuke, overhearing this, only laughed.


	3. Chapter Three

**AN**: Here's an extra long chapter because, well, they're going to have to be longer because otherwise this story is going to have way too many chapters.

This story is (probably) going to be long. I'm talking, around the length of Deadly Games long (chapter-wise). And the chapters are probably going to be longer too. Just a little warning for you:o)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"Maybe we should call this search off," Sango commented, "we probably won't find him."

The five sat hidden by a few trees just on the outskirts of the city, waiting for someone most of them were sure wouldn't show up and weren't sure existed, for that matter. The night was cold and getting colder with the chilly wind that came every now and then.

"It's after midnight and the girl is tired," Miroku agreed, nodding toward Kagome. A few turned and looked to see Kagome asleep, her head rested on Yusuke's shoulder. "We've been waiting for over an hour."

Yusuke shifted uncomfortably, which made Shizuru smirk, but Kagome didn't budge. Obviously, she hadn't been sleeping that well lately, or she would have woken up to the movement.

Meanwhile, Sango was running over the night's events in her mind as she stood up, her stiff legs protesting as she did. After Kagome and her two new 'friends' had convinced her and Shizuru to come along on their little escapade, they had gone out searching for more people, but none seemed to fit the criteria. There were too many men with too much muscle and not enough brain. True, they did need muscle, but the person also had to have enough common sense to survive in the wild.

After more disappoints, the group had retired to the tavern, bored and in need of a few drinks. It was there that Yusuke had mentioned the rumors of an amazing fighter, a fighter the people called "Black Death".

"They call him Black Death because you never see him coming and he can kill you before you make a sound. No one has seen him and lived," Yusuke informed their small group.

"Great, a legendary person on top of a legendary city. We're going to drown in all these 'legends'," Shizuru murmured as she downed her drink.

Kagome frowned slightly at Yusuke's words. "Then how do we know this person exists?" Kagome inquired, "I've never heard of him before."

"That's just it, you don't know," Sango declared, "and why do we want this person who kills others in our group? Not to mention, why would he want to join?"

"But, my dear Sango, we're already chasing after one dream, why not chase after another?" Miroku chimed in with a smile, his eyes twinkling.

After her snapping at him that she wasn't his 'dear' and him trying to make a move on her that earned him a hard slap, they had moved on to a place where Yusuke had claimed he had once saw the fighter. Though a few had protested, Kagome had decided in the end that she wanted to go. Since the whole thing was up to her, the others had no choice but to go along.

Sango brushed off the grass that clung to her, making sure she was away from Miroku since she had a feeling he'd take any chance he could get to touch a young woman. Just catching sight of him while she did it confirmed her suspicions.

Looking down at the group, Sango began, "I've had about all I can take for one night, I'm going home. Come for me if you need me, but otherwise—"

Sango didn't get to finish her sentence though as something suddenly grabbed hold of her from behind. In less than a second, she felt the cool metal of a blade against the exposed skin of neck.

"Sango!" Shizuru said, rising quickly to her feet and the rest followed, besides Kagome, still sleeping just as soundly even though her pillow was gone.

Sango was cursing herself internally. She was usually very good at sensing danger around her, but with him she had sensed nothing. He had just dropped out of no where.

"Why are you fools waiting for me?" her attacker asked the others as Sango's hand inched toward a concealed blade. Seeming to know what she was doing, he jerked her and pressed the blade tighter against her skin while using the other hand to grab her wrists. "Don't even try it, woman. I have nothing against killing you."

"Hey, let the girl go," Yusuke ordered, momentarily forgetting her name.

She couldn't see her captor because he was standing behind her, but she tried to get a mental image of him in order to visualize where his weaknesses would be. Based on the way his arm was stretched slightly upward to press the blade against her throat, he was shorter rather than taller than her, meaning if she tried to elbow him, it would hit him in the chest instead of his stomach which would have been more vulnerable. Stomping on a foot was always good too, but somehow she already knew he'd be too smart and fast for that old trick.

While her mind raced, the conversation continued.

"We only came with a proposal in mind," Miroku said slowly, trying to keep the situation calm and under control. "We're going on a… quest, I guess you could call it."

"Get on with it," he snapped. His grip tightened on Sango's wrists, causing her to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from calling out. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"To the Lost City," he continued as though he'd never been rudely interrupted, though his eyes did shift to Sango for a second, seeing the flicker of pain on her face. "And we're in need of fighters so we can survive the forest."

His grip suddenly loosened, for what reason, she didn't know, but still, she could do nothing. Any move she tried to make, he could slit her throat before she could get away.

After a long period of stranded silence, he answered, "I'm not a team player and I don't get along with others." He took his blade—which turned out to be a sword—away from Sango then and pushed her back toward the group. Yusuke half-caught her and helped her steady herself on her feet. "Go find some other fool to join your group."

When she was balanced, Sango turned and got her first look at her attacker. The first thing she noticed were his crimson eyes that stood out compared to his black attire and black hair—though the spiky quality to it was noticeable as well. His shortness was the second thing that struck her, the height a child (an older child, but still a child) might be; nonetheless she was almost positive he was a few years older than her from the maturity in his face and his body.

He turned his back on the group—that one small movement an insult to them, telling them that he didn't view them even the smallest bit as a threat—and began walking away with a slight swish of his black cloak around him.

"Are you too afraid to go?" Sango called after him. She rubbed her neck where the sword had been, coming back with a few droplets of blood staining her fingers. She shrugged it off. A small cut never hurt anyone.

"Hn." He paused in his movement, turning his head back to regard her and only her. "I'm not afraid of anything."

She took a step forward. "Then come with us," she said.

He was quiet, seeming to be contemplating something. He turned his face away once more, looking in front of him, though she was sure he wasn't seeing any of the scenery, lost in thought. After a long silence, he decided. "I'll come. But I won't guarantee staying long with you idiots."

"Why do you keep calling us idiots?" Yusuke asked, annoyed.

"Anyone who goes willingly into that forest is a fool."

"…You do know you just called yourself a fool, right?" Sango asked with a half-smile, unable to hide her amusement.

He looked annoyed, but before he could retort, Miroku said, "there's just one thing. We're going so that we can protect Kagome along the way."

His face showed his dislike for the idea, but surprising he said nothing about it. "Kagome?" he asked.

Miroku looked toward the girl, making Hiei take a few steps forward to get a look at her as well, still deeply asleep, nearly curled into a ball as she shivered because of the cold night. Sango could see a struggle raging in his eyes, thinking over his decision and wondering if it had been the right choice, no doubt. He seemed to have an alternative motive in mind, making Sango suspicious of him and hardly trusting him at all. Or maybe it was because he had had a blade to her throat a few minutes ago. Just maybe.

He sat down and leaned his back against a tree, glancing away from the group. "Fine."

The rest traded looks before returning to their seats near Kagome. Sango, however, stopped in front of the man and though she was sure he knew she was there, he never turned to look up at her. She nudged his side with her foot, causing him to glare.

"You got a name?"

When he was silent for awhile, she thought he wouldn't answer and was about to move on when he spoke.

"Hiei."

* * *

Kagome shivered and reached for her warm blanket to pull around her, but found none. She opened her eyes slowly and was utterly confused to find herself outside, sleeping on the grass, surrounded by people. In moments it all came back and she sat up quickly, looking around her.

She guessed she hadn't realized just how tired she had been. For the last few days she'd been worrying nonstop about Inuyasha, making her sleep habits not as good as they should have been. Just sitting around, waiting, sleep bore down on her until she finally gave in.

Yusuke walked up to her, seeing that she was finally awake. "Have a nice sleep?" Yusuke questioned wryly, peering down at her before sitting down.

She had the grace to look embarrassed as she replied, "you could've woken me up, I wouldn't have minded. I hope you weren't wait—" she was about to continue when she noticed someone new glancing at her, then away. She blinked in surprise. "Who's that?"

Sango looked to her as stretched her legs, cramped from staying in the same position too long. "You're newest recruit," she answered nonchalantly.

"Oh," Kagome replied, almost lamely. If her assumptions were correct the man in front of her must be "Black Death" as Yusuke had put it. They must have spoken with him while she was sleeping. She only hoped they told him everything.

She moved so that she was kneeling in front of him and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Kagome. Nice to meet you." He glared at her and then looked away, leaving his arms crossed. Kagome put her hands on her hips, which looked odd since she was kneeling. "Well that's rude."

"Hiei's not much of a people person, as you might have guessed," Sango informed her so she wouldn't feel too offended.

Kagome looked like she might pout, but in the end shrugged it off (though unconvincing) and moved to sit back where she was before. She didn't even know him and already he disliked her? That was unfair.

"You were out long enough, we started making plans without you," Shizuru told her.

"Nothing too big," Miroku assured Kagome, "just minor details, such as you should have around seven people with you on this trip. Not too much, not too little"

"Well, I already have five, two more shouldn't be so hard to find," Kagome said optimistically.

Miroku looked uncomfortably, causing Kagome to be curious, but soon it was gone, a charming smile in its place. He continued, "we figured with the forest being so dangerous, one of them should at least be a healer."

"Me and Yusuke went out in town when you were asleep," Shizuru said, taking up the conversation and smiling slightly when Kagome mumbled, "was I really out for _that_ long?" before continuing, "we asked around and got recommended to one girl the most. We were about to wake you up and head over there now."

"Then we'll look for more muscle to take along," Yusuke said. Hiei opened his mouth to speak, but Yusuke cut him off. "You're about to call us all idiots again, aren't you?"

He shifted his gaze. "Hn."

Yusuke grinned in triumph, making a few of the others smile as well, though Kagome was a bit lost. Go to sleep for awhile and suddenly, she missed everything. Oh, well.

"Why don't you skip that part and tell us why," Sango declared.

He stood up. "The forest is dangerous and mysterious, but going in with pure muscle will get you killed. You need an intellect." He started to walk away with all their eyes following him as he did.

"We don't want someone we'll have to watch twenty-four hours a day," Yusuke responded, standing up as well and almost following the killer.

Hiei looked back then. "Isn't that what you're doing for that girl?" he sneered, glaring at Kagome. How come with just one glare he could make Kagome feel so tiny and insignificant? Even when, in reality, she had a higher position than him? It made her feel annoyed, at the very least.

His face took on a sheepish look as he scratched the back of his head, avoiding Kagome's gaze. "Well, yeah, but she's the reason any of us are going in the first place," Yusuke said.

"Hey, stop talking about me as if I wasn't sitting right here," Kagome said, annoyed.

Hiei ignored her still. "Besides, the person I have in mind can handle his own."

"And who's that?" Kagome asked curiously.

Finally, Hiei began paying some attention to the noble, meeting her brown eyes with his red ones. "His alias is Kurama. You'll find him in a closed shop on Keeper's Street." With that, Hiei walked away from the group and disappeared into the darkness. No one even thought to follow him.

"Is he… coming back?" Kagome inquired hesitantly. Sango and Shizuru shrugged and the men looked just as puzzled as Kagome. She shook her head, putting what needed immediate attention at the front of her mind. "I'll go and find this 'Kurama'," she told the group as she rose, "it probably won't take too long. You go look into finding the healer and I'll meet you later, okay?"

Miroku caught her arm before she could leave. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? Going alone? Why not take Yusuke or Sango along?"

Kagome noticed how he hadn't offered to go himself, seeing as how he might meet a pretty girl otherwise, looking for a healer. She also knew since he was the only one that knew about her noble status, he'd be the most protective of her, knowing her importance to the future king and the people.

But they didn't know exactly where to find the healer, whereas she did know where this 'Kurama' might be. Therefore they should have more people looking to find the girl as soon as possible.

She squeezed Miroku's arm gently and he removed his hand reluctantly. "I'll be fine, it won't take long."

Not looking happy, he let her go and she parted ways with her team.

* * *

She had found the shop easily from all the commotion and noise from inside. Kagome reached her hand up to knock, but the door swung open before she could. For the second time that night she brought her cloak closer around her and not because she was cold.

The room was dim with only a few candles and a fireplace offering light and some warmth. There weren't too many people in the room and she didn't recognize any of them, but that didn't come as much of a surprise. What was a surprise were the two men that sat in the middle of the room, a chessboard between them. With almost every move the man with long red hair made, the short brown-haired one cursed (with such vulgar language Kagome's ears turned red) and took another shot of liquor. The first declared checkmate, causing the latter to drink a whole pitcher and move on just before someone else took his place.

A man with long black hair who looked somewhat familiar shook his head and disappeared into a back room, though no was else seemed to notice or care. A few other man talked and joked around the room, no one without a drink in their hand, besides the two long-haired men she had seen. Now the big question: which one of these men, if any, was Kurama?

Kagome let out a squeak as she was grabbed from behind and roughly turned around to be face to face with a man who looked (and smelt) like he could use a good bath. His hair looked oily and his face had dirt smudges all over it. "Look at this, I've found a little girlie," he said as he smiled wickedly, revealing yellowish brown teeth, not to mention a few missing ones. "Come to entertain us?"

"Um, no, actually I'm looking for someone…" she began. _Keep yourself calm, Kagome_, she told herself, _just be nice to him as long as he'll help you._

She tried not to wince as his grimy hand brush against her cheek as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her cheek. "And who might that be?"

"I'm looking for Kurama," she informed him while praying that he wasn't him. If he was… then Hiei was going to be in so much trouble for sending her to him.

He pushed her up against the wall and her heart began racing. "Sorry, there's no Kurama here." He brought his head down so that his face was closer to hers. "I'd gladly be Kurama if you'd like."

Her spirits fell. No Kurama? Suddenly she wished she had listened to Miroku and brought someone along. The sight of Yusuke or, better yet, Sango beating him up would be very pleasing since a man being beat by a woman in front of his friends was always humiliating for them.

"No thanks. Now please let go of me," she said, still trying to be civil since that was how she was raised, while trying to remove his hands from her at the same time.

"I don't think so."

She got his hand from her and began walking toward the door, but he grabbed her from behind again, wrapping his arms around her. Having about enough, she elbowed him in his stomach and he doubled over. She tried to get away then, but he grabbed her wrist painfully.

"Why you little…"

A hand fell on his shoulder and he paused. Both he and his captive turned their heads to see the red haired man behind them, one hand gripping the man's shoulder painfully tight.

"Shuichi," Kagome's captor started.

"That's quite enough," he declared to the man, then looked to Kagome, "come with me."

The man's grip had loosened so she took the chance to yank her hand away. While rubbing her wrist, she glared at the man and had the urge to stick her tongue out at him defiantly, but controlled herself, knowing it would make matters worse.

The other man, Shuichi, had walked to the door the other man had disappeared into before and looked back at her expectantly. Not really having another choice, she followed into the back room. Maybe he would know something about Kurama.

He waited for her and let her enter first like a gentleman would before closing the door behind them. Meanwhile she took in her new surroundings. It was a small room, half shrouded in shadows, with the only furniture in the room being a desk and a chair behind it and a chair off to the side as well. There were, however, a random assortment of plants around the room that were absolutely breathtaking.

Shuichi walked past her and half-sat, half-leaned on the desk, facing her. He motioned for her to sit in the spare chair, but she shook her head in refusal.

She couldn't help but take in his appearance as she stood there, exotic as it was. Most people tended to have dark hair and eyes, but his emerald eyes were gorgeous and his red hair was unusual in color. He wore his hair longer than most men, but then again, it wasn't as long as Inuyasha.

She felt a pang in her heart when she thought of her betrothed. Right, she had to focused. She had no time to get distracted by a man, no matter how pretty he was. Besides she must have seen loads of men more attractive then him… she just couldn't think of any at the moment.

"Thank you, for out there," Kagome said, unable to erase the slight nervousness within her. Surely she was better off with him then the man outside. Hopefully. Though, she did have a odd feeling of familiarity when she looked at him.

He waved his hand dismissively. "No need for thanks. The man had no right to touch you in the first place. It's just not that often we see a pretty woman in here. And, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for a man named Kurama," Kagome declared while trying to blush at the slight compliment she received, "do you know where he is?"

Shuichi laughed softly. "Yes, I know where you can find him."

"Really? Where?" Kagome asked enthusiastically, taking a step forward.

"He's standing three feet in front of you," he informed her.

"But… but that means you… and that man out there, he said… and he called you…" she began, confusion making her jumble her words.

He was polite enough not to out right laugh at her confusion like she had a feeling Yusuke would do if he were there, though Kurama's eyes did sparkle with laughter. "I am Kurama." He stretched out his arms as though to give her a better look, then bowed slightly, before leaning against the desk again. "Shuichi is my real name. I use to go by Kurama as an alias when I was younger, but I've long since stopped using that name. Which leads me to a question of my own. Who gave you that name?"

Kagome regarded him for a moment, but decided she could talk freely with him. Besides, if he was going to join them, she had to trust him. "A man…" she started, then stopped. He hadn't told her his name since he had ignored her most of the time, but she thought she remembered Sango saying his name… "Hiei," she recalled, "he told me where I could find you."

He looked genuinely surprised. "Hiei?"

She nodded. "You see, I came here to ask you something," she began. He stayed silent, waiting for her to continue as she chose her words carefully. Somehow she already knew she'd have a hard time convincing him. "I've been recruiting people to go with me... I've got five people already, maybe six," she told him, thinking of the healer, if her team had found her yet. She remembered Miroku having to tell her firmly to get to the point so recalling that now, did so. "what I'm getting at is, I want you to come with me to the Lost City. To protect me along the way."

There was silence before he sighed and said, "I'm sorry, I can not go with you."

Kagome stared at him, startled. She had expected him to be reluctant or not really want to go, but never expected such a flat out refusal. "W-what?" she asked.

"I can't go with you," he repeated. His voice seemed to hold regret.

She moved closer, close enough that it could be viewed as a intrusion of his personal space. "But why? Won't you at least consider it?" Kagome pleaded. She held her hand in a fist over her heart, looking at him pleadingly.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no." He stood up straight, almost making their bodies touch, and walked around his desk so that he could sit in the chair behind it.

"You'll be paid for your services," she started.

"I can't," he interrupted, not waiting for her to finish. Either way, it wouldn't have changed her mind.

She put both hands flat on the desk, leaning over it and closer to him. "Won't," she accused.

"Either way you want to look at it, I will not be going with you," he told her, his voice firm.

He seemed to be set on his decision. His voice was strong with no sense of doubt in it and she knew she wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. All the others had something she could use to convince them, but that wouldn't work with him. Nothing she could say would change his mind. Still…

"Kurama, please…" she said.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," he replied.

She sighed and stood up straight, regaining her composure. She was about to turn, when she paused, looking back at him curiously. "I don't remember giving you my name. Have we… met before?"

His face never changed. "No, I don't believe we have. You introduced yourself when you first came in."

"Oh," she said lamely, though she was trying to remember if she had or had not given her name. Having nothing more to say, she turned, disappointed, and walked toward the door where she paused once more. She met his emerald green eyes. "Just… think about it."

Then she was gone.

* * *

Kurama watched Kagome leave before he sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting the slight tension in his body run out.

She hadn't changed a bit.

Kuronue came out of the shadows then, letting his presence be known. Kurama, however, knew he had been there all along and didn't even bother acknowledging him. He sat on the edge of the desk, glancing at Kurama. "You wanted to go with her."

His eyes were locked on the door Kagome had closed ever so gently. He spoke absentmindedly. "I've met her before… she just didn't know it was me she spoke with. She was running away then… she still is now." He snapped out of his daze and turned his head toward his friend, answering him. "Possibly."

"Why didn't you go?" he asked.

Kurama sighed, folding his hands over his stomach. "Are you going to question me now as well?"

"You're avoiding my questions. You're afraid they'll find out," Kuronue accused.

He ignored the comment, not taking the bait. "I don't suppose if I asked, you'd drop it?" Kurama asked, having no hope that he would.

He smirked. "Admit it, you'd enjoy a bit of a challenge. Thieving, even the most guarded treasures, has become too easy for you."

It was true, what he said, but he didn't confess. "Why do _you_ want me to go to my doom so badly?" the King of Thieves asked.

"Why, because that means I'll be in charge, of course," Kuronue responded easily. Kurama laughed, but they both knew his heart wasn't in it. "You can't lie, we both know you want to travel with the girl and her friends."

Kurama looked toward the door once more, then away. "It doesn't matter what I want."

* * *

Kagome walked down the almost entirely abandoned street, looking for any sign of any of her group. So far, no luck. Once or twice she almost called out to someone, only to have them turn around and find that they weren't who she thought they were, which just made her feel embarrassed.

"Kagome!"

She turned when she heard her name being called and saw Sango rushing toward her. Relief rushed through her.

"I've been looking for you. We found the healer everyone was recommending. The guys are at her house now, explaining things," Sango explained. She looked around, then said, "so I'm guessing no Kurama?"

"I found him, but… he flat out refused," Kagome said, dejectedly.

Seeing Kagome's distress, Sango felt the need to cheer her up. "Hey, don't look so down. If he doesn't want to come, that's his loss. He'll miss one hell of an adventure," she said, not mentioning the fact that at first she wasn't too keen on coming along. "You've got a great team without him."

Kagome smiled. "That's right."

"Now come on, I'll bring you to the others," Sango said, starting to lead the way.

"Hey, Sango?" she said. Sango glanced back inquiringly. "Thanks."

Sango smiled as well and then the two were off. Anxious to meet this possible new addition, Kagome jogged instead of walking, making Sango do the same to keep up with her. It didn't take too long to reach the home of the healer, which was not too surprisingly in the nicer part of the city. It was expected from someone so highly renowned and healers were rare things these days. Though her healing skills must truly be amazing to live in such a nice home.

Sango knocked on the door and there was some shuffling from within before Yusuke opened the door.

"It took you long enough," Yusuke grumbled, opening the door wider so they could come in.

It was then that Kagome caught sight of the blue-haired woman standing in the middle of the room.

"Botan," Kagome said, startled.

Shizuru looked from the healer to her new employer. "You two know each other?" Shizuru asked.

If Kagome looked surprised, words didn't describe Botan's shock. "La—"

Kagome sprang forward and put a hand to Botan's shoulder, forcing her to stay up before she could bow and address her as "Lady Kagome". Her sudden jump forward must have been odd to the rest so, to cover it up, she hugged Botan like she would an old friend, making them think that was what she meant to do all along.

"Botan, it's so nice to see you again! It's been too long! Would you care to join me in the other room?" Kagome said quickly. She dragged Botan away before she had a chance to respond.

"Okay, now that was weird," Yusuke said as the door was slammed shut.

Once the door was closed and Kagome let go of her, Botan began, "Lady Kagome, what are you doing here? I mean, they mentioned that the girl's name was Kagome, but I never connected it, never thought that you were that same Kagome—"

She would have gone on if Kagome had not put a hand over her mouth. "They told you where I plan to go, right?" Kagome questioned.

She nodded while her eyes widened a fraction. Botan looked like she desperately wanted to talk, but since her words would be muffled, she didn't even try.

"Then you understand why I have to go," Kagome told her, removing her hand.

Botan was quiet then as she put the pieces together. "You think you can find a cure for Lord Inuyasha in the Lost City," she said slowly. It was Kagome's turn to nod. Botan jumped forward unexpectedly and hugged Kagome. "Oh, that's so romantic!"

"Why does everyone think that? I'm not doing this for love, I'm doing this because he's my friend and I… I care about him. I don't want to see another person die from that 'incurable' disease." She met Botan's eyes. "Will you come with us?"

Botan stopped hugging her, but kept her hands on her shoulders, her face suddenly solemn. "I couldn't heal Inuyasha." Before Kagome could protest, she continued, "I know, I know, no healer can cure it. But… it was the first time I came across something I couldn't cure." She shook her head. "I'd heard about the disease, but I'd never had to try and heal someone with it. I… felt so helpless!" She let out a shaky breath. "The least I can do now is help _you_ cure him."

Kagome understood. Botan had been one of the only people that knew of Inuyasha's illness before he had collapsed and the news had spread to those close to him, people like Kagome. He hadn't willingly told her, but she found out while she was there healing someone else in the palace at the time. Botan helped him the best she could, but… she could only do so much. Nothing could make it go away, so she did what she could, keeping him healthy for as long as she could. That was how her and Kagome had met, as she stayed around the palace, they got to know each other. Though after awhile Botan got called away and left the palace. Soon after that was when Inuyasha collapsed, sending him into the state he was in now.

Kagome smiled at her. "Thank you," she said with feeling.

Botan then put her hands on her hip. "Now what was that out there? I know you said I could address you informally, but when we're around people I'm suppose to address you as 'my lady'."

It was true that was what they had done at the palace, otherwise others could have scolded Botan or even punished her for not addressing Kagome properly. Though she doubted the latter since healers were so valuable.

"Oh, that. No one coming with us, except Miroku," at Botan's questioning look, she added, "the lecherous one," she nodded then, understanding, so she continued, "None of them know I'm a noble, let alone betrothed to the future king. I think it's best they don't know, so I'd like to keep it that way."

"Alright, easy enough," the healer responded. She nodded toward the door. "So are all those people outside everyone you're taking along?"

"Yes. Well, except for one more. I think," Kagome answered, thinking of Hiei. He was coming back… right?

Feelings of relief and nervousness ran through her. She finally had everyone and now, they could leave. They could head off into the deadly forest and to the Lost City, get the cure and get back to Inuyasha. Easier said then done, granted, but still, she could finally do it. With a team all ready to go, she was one step closer to saving Inuyasha.

There was no turning back now, she was ready to go.

Well, almost.

* * *

**AN**: Betrothed is such a cool word. Don't ask me why, it just is. :P

Enjoy the long chapter, yes, no? They're probably all going to be this long now, if not longer. Alright, as always, any comments, questions, complaints, constructive criticism, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Thank you everyone that reviewed!


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Sneaking back into the palace had almost proved to be more challenging then sneaking out. Not that Kagome couldn't just walk right in, but then there would be the whole question of how she got out in the first place and why was she returning around four in the morning that she'd have to answer. Yeah, she didn't want to go through that. In the back way it was then. 

Luckily, some of the underground servant's passageways Yukina showed her were unknown to the guards and once she was actually inside the walls, hiding in the shadows and tiptoeing down hallways worked to get herself where she wanted. It's not like she didn't have lots of practice, what with all the sneaking around she had to do when she was trying to pull pranks on Inuyasha. The thought of it made her smile, though sadly.

When she reached her chambers, Kagome grabbed a few simple garments and packed them in a bag, along with a blanket and other more necessary items. The group had parted ways at Botan's house, each going back to their own homes to get what they needed, or at least, what they thought they would need for their journey. They would leave just before dawn.

The door connecting her room to her servant's opened, revealing a tired Yukina. "Kagome? You're back?"

Kagome flashed her a smile before moving toward her bureau, removing the few bracelets she wore and placing them on top of it. "I found a team," she said happily, "to go with me. I'll be leaving for the Lost City."

"When?" she asked, moving so that she could see Kagome's reflection in the mirror, since her ladyship had her back to her.

"Tonight. Well, this morning," she corrected herself.

"What? So soon?" Yukina asked, alarmed, suddenly entirely awake.

"The sooner the better." She was about to move on when she noticed the gold heart necklace her mother had given her. She ran her fingers over the engraving on the heart before she began to put it on. "Tell my mother… tell her I'm sorry for disappearing. But don't tell her where I'm going, she'll worry too much." She tucked the necklace under her shirt before turning toward Yukina. "When they realize I'm missing, don't tell anyone you know where I've gone or they could punish you for not stopping me."

Yukina nodded, then paused. "Not even Lord Inuyasha?"

Kagome stopped in her tracks on the way to her bed, pausing in thought, then looked at her. "Especially Inuyasha. I don't know if he'd… overreact if he found me gone."

"Kagome…"

She held up a hand. "Don't try to stop me. We've been through this, it won't work."

"It's not that, only…" She bowed to Kagome. "I wish you luck."

When she straightened, Yukina almost squeaked when Kagome abruptly hugged her. "Thank you." She gave her a tight squeeze before letting go. "I'll come back. I promise."

On that ending note, she put on her cloak and grabbed her bag, giving Yukina one last glance before leaving the room. Would this be the last time she saw her? No. No, she wouldn't think negatively. She would be back and with the cure. She would.

There was no way she could come back without it…

She lightly walked to the statue path was hidden behind, having to hid in the shadows only once when an exhausted-looking servant went by, though he moved quickly. Kagome paused when she reached the servant's secret passageway, glancing at the room down the hall. It was the room Inuyasha was staying in.

She walked silently down the hallway and cautiously opened the door, peering into the dark room. Had this been the room that servant had just left? Walking in, she dropped her pack on the floor and closed the door silently. She turned and was startled to see golden eyes, eyes she hadn't seen open for a long while, watching her from the bed.

"You're awake," she said in surprise. She wanted to go forward, but her feet weren't cooperating. Neither was the rest of her body.

"How long was I out for?" Inuyasha asked. He began to sit up, but almost immediately fell back onto the bed.

She got over her momentary shock and rushed forward, pushing him down gently. "Don't try to sit up. You've been out for days, I've lost count of how many," she told him. When she was sure he'd remain lying down, she grabbed a chair that was against the wall and put it next to his bed. Once she was settled comfortably, she proceeded to lean forward and poke him hard in the arm. "That's for not telling me." She would have hit him harder, but he was already ill. She didn't want to do anything to make him feel worse.

He looked down at his arm before looking at her. "Ow, you know, that almost hurt," he mocked.

"Don't joke," she said in a soft voice filled with emotion.

He might have continued on but then noticed the genuine concern on her face. "Sorry," he mumbled awkwardly. He looked away, turning toward the window covered by curtains. Noticing no light seeping in, he continued, "why are you still up? Go to your own room and sleep. I don't need a babysitter."

Kagome almost smiled. "Such a nice way to put it. You always did have a way with words," she told him. _But I guess… I might as well tell him_, she thought to herself. "There's something I should tell you. I'm… leaving tonight. In a few minutes actually."

His face became unreadable except… except it looked a little pained? "Finally giving in?" he asked, before his voice got angry. "I guess I wasted a lot of plans to get rid of you. If I knew it was the illness that would make you leave I would've told you before, that way—" She hit him in the arm, harder than before. "See, now that one hurt a little."

"Don't even think that," she snapped, "the reason I'm leaving is because of your illness but not _because_ of your illness."

Inuyasha looked at her as though she was crazy, though everyone seemed to be doing that lately so it wasn't that much of a surprise. "Because that makes a lot of sense," he said sarcastically.

Kagome shook her head, trying to get her thoughts straight. "What I mean is—let me start over. I went out tonight and met with this guy named Miroku. Actually, you should know him, he's your cousin. Anyway—"

"Miroku? My _cousin_ Miroku? I thought he was dead," he said, then thinking of something else, "if he tried something I swear I'll rip his head off—" he interrupted.

She interrupted his interruption. "That's not important—wait, wasn't the last time you saw each when you were young? How lecherous is this guy?" she inquired, mostly to herself.

"I guess by that comment he hasn't changed," Inuyasha muttered. He sat up and gave Kagome a glare when she opened her mouth to protest. His arms trembled, but in the end he got himself up on his own. He gave Kagome a triumph look, though it had less of an effect when his arms gave out and he let his back fall heavily against the wall.

"After I met him, I told him of my plan. And… I'm going to cure you," she told him.

He gave her another odd look she couldn't decipher, the second one that night, but then it was gone. "Don't waste your time. Kagome, listen to me. _There is no cure_."

"There is in the Lost City," she said.

He scoffed. "Yeah, but—" He met her eyes and actually looked into them, deep into them. Then he realized. "No." One word. Firm. Commanding.

Why? Why the sudden show of concern? He had never cared before, never cared about her emotions or how she felt. Well, possible once or twice, but then he turned arrogant once more and was even more determined to drive her away. Why now?

The chair screeched and moved back as she stood up, taking herself out of his reach. Always out of his reach. "You can't make me stay."

"Then I command you," he told her. He tried to get up, but his body failed him, so he stayed put. "I command you as a lord, your betrothed, and future king. I won't let you go."

"I don't take commands very well," she told him as she headed for the door.

Her hand was on the handle when he spoke, causing her to look back. "Why are you doing this for me? You don't love me and I've been nothing but nasty to you," he stated.

Kagome turned back, leaning against the door. "I'm doing this because you don't deserve to die. And you're to be my husband. Shouldn't a wife do anything to save her spouse?" she said with a half-smile though it didn't look too happy.

"You should be glad. Once I die, this engagement will be over and you'll be free to do whatever you want," Inuyasha informed her.

"You're _not_ going to die," she told him firmly, emphasizing her words by taking a few steps toward him until she was at his bedside.

"All we've been doing since you got here was trying to get rid of each other," he continued.

"There are a lot of men out there worse than you," she said seriously, "if you're gone, then I will be forced into marrying one of them. I'll take my chances with you, even if you are a jerk," Kagome finished, saying the last part jokingly.

"Funny, it started out as a compliment and ended in an insult. Good to know I taught you something," Inuyasha commented.

She tried to smile, but couldn't. Even the atmosphere around him was solemn and knowing he was dying… "I have a team to go with me. They're strong and are going to take care of me. Botan's coming too for all our healing needs. So don't worry about me, worry about yourself. I _will_ come back with a cure. Just make sure you're alive to take it."

"Feh, I won't let this little illness take me," Inuyasha sneered.

"You better not," she warned, "or else I'd have to bring you back to life and… I don't know, do something bad to you." She winced at her own non-intimating words. So she wasn't so great in the threatening department.

He let out a short laugh. "If you could bring me back to life, this whole thing wouldn't be much of a problem, would it?"

She scrunched her nose, hands on hips. "Do you _have _to make every conversation with you so difficult and frustrating?"

"Yes," was his simple answer.

The smallest of smiles touched her lips and she took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. Abruptly he used her hand to jolt her forward causing her to squeak in surprise and protest. He covered her mouth with his, making her eyes widened considerably and she jumped away, at least, as far away as she could with her hand still in his grasp.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, her voice not too happy and her face turning bright red.

"When you come back alive, you can slap me for that or do whatever you want," he told her, "but only when you come back."

She looked startled for a moment before she understood. "Oh, if I wasn't certain before, I'll definitely be coming back now."

He let her go and she stepped away, going to pick up her pack and stealing a rose from an assortment of flowers by the door. Sent from someone wishing Inuyasha good health, no doubt. She played with it in her hands for a few moments, twirling it between her fingers, before putting it in her pack just as a reminded of why she was going to all the trouble. Not that she'd be capable of forgetting, even for a moment.

"I will be back," she repeated for the umpteenth time.

Maybe if she repeated it enough times, it really would come true.

* * *

The sky was a nice mesh of blue and pink as the sun began to rise, chasing away the darkness. Slowly the city was beginning to wake up, though grudgingly it seemed at such a beastly hour in the morning. The group was at the edge of the vast city, ready to leave, except for one last problem… 

"You're not coming with us?" Kagome asked, catching his arm and making him face her.

"In all fairness, I never said _I_ would be coming along," Miroku reasoned, "you only assumed I would."

Yusuke glared at him from his spot on the grass. He'd been sitting there for awhile since they were taking _forever_ to leave. He blamed it on having women in the group. Them and their damn time taking.

"Yeah, but what's with that? You convinced half of us, but you won't come along," Yusuke scoffed. "That's a little unfair."

"_I'm_ not suicidal," Miroku said, looking down at him while moving away from Kagome, making her drop her hand.

"And yet you still got us to go," Sango commented. She plopped down on the ground next to Yusuke, tired of standing for so long. "And we suckers fell for it." She added as an afterthought, "though I guess we girls can sleep safer without him."

He chose to ignore her last comment. "I'm not that much of a fighter, I won't be much use to you," Miroku told them, "you don't need me there."

"No, but I want you there," Kagome informed him, meeting his eyes, "I need all the help I can get. Even if it's just someone to talk to."

He understand what she meant. She was hiding from the rest who she was and why she was really going to the Lost City. Keeping that from everyone might be stressful; she'd need someone to talk to once and awhile.

He had to look away from her. Her eyes were too convincing in a sad puppy dog kind of way. "You have Botan, that'll be enough," he said, "I'm only here to wish you good luck and see you off."

Sango half-raised her hand. "I liked the 'being off' part of that sentence," she said. Yusuke let out a small laugh at her words, which made her give a fleeting glare.

"I agree with my cousin here," Shizuru declared, "I think we should be off before anyone is moved to tears by this touching parting of ways."

"Are your words ever anything other than sarcastic?" Botan asked.

"Generally, no, not really," Sango answered for her with a slight smile as she stood up.

Yusuke opened his mouth to speak, but the fighter-for-hire silenced him with a hand movement. She was frozen in place and seemed to be… listened. Abruptly she spun around, drawing her sword as another sword parried the attack. Yusuke jumped to his feet, sensing the same thing she had.

Sango smiled when she saw Hiei in front of her. "Can't catch me the same way twice," she said.

He smirked as he struck, but she blocked. "Almost did."

He attacked again and the two began their dance, moving forward and back to parry the other's assault. Sango for the most part only blocked his attacks since he moved much faster than she did and didn't give her much of a chance to strike back.

Their blades locked and each tried to push the other with their sword until Sango, using a surprising burst of energy, made Hiei jump back. Seeming satisfied, Hiei put his sword down, though Sango stayed defensive until he finally put his blade away. She did the same.

"So the Prince of Darkness decides to show up after all," Miroku commented when their mock fight had come to an end.

Hiei gave him a cold look. "Weren't you leaving?"

Miroku held up his hands to make himself look harmless. "I'm going." He glanced at Kagome. "I hope your journey goes well."

After seeing that Hiei and Sango meant no harm to each other, Kagome had continued to try and persuade Miroku to come. His refusal was less certain than the man Kurama's had been, but firm just the same. Well, she couldn't make him come if he really didn't want to.

"You'll be seeing me in no time," Kagome replied with a smile. She turned the rest. "Alright, let's go."

The group picked up their bags—if they'd bothered to bring any. Hiei and Sango had only brought weapons, nothing else while Yusuke didn't have anything at all, preferring to fight with his fists. It seemed none of the three wanted to be bothered with lugging around anything while there was possible fighting to be done, which was understandable. Botan had a bag which was mostly filled with items she might need for healing and whatever else she might be able to do with her powers.

They all glanced around, waiting for someone to make the first move, except Hiei who rolled his eyes at their incompetence. Finally Yusuke got fed up and began walking, the others following with a few shrugs and glances at each other.

"I hope so," Miroku murmured to himself as he watched them get farther and farther away. "I really do."

* * *

They trekked through the hilly terrain, the occasional tree every now and then. It would be two or three days before they reached the actually forest, a very boring few days with nothing to do but walk and walk. 

Yusuke glanced up at the sky, seeing its gray-like quality and many clouds. "I just hope it doesn't rain on us. We don't exactly have any place to use as shelter," he commented, looking around the nearly bare fields.

"Don't say that!" Botan told him.

"Why not?" he asked, annoyed.

"Because just because you said that, now it'll rain! That's the way it works," Botan said haughtily.

"Of course, you didn't know that Yusuke?" Shizuru said sardonically, her eyes filled with silent laughter.

"You can't actually mean that," Kagome said skeptically. She looked upward at the dark sky, then continued with doubt in her voice, "Can you?"

While she was staring upward, she didn't pay attention to where she was going and ended up walking into the person in front of her. She let out a small "oomph" and almost fell backwards, but Yusuke put a hand out to steady her before moving on. The person, Hiei, glared at her.

"Watch where you're going," Hiei snapped.

She didn't mention the fact that _he_ was the one that had stopped walking, keeping her mouth perfectly shut. She wouldn't admit it, but she was slightly intimated by the short man. But in the end, she wound up speaking her mind anyway saying crossly, "I'm not the one that stopped moving." What could she say, she wasn't one to keep her thoughts to herself for too long, especially when she was annoyed.

He, however, wasn't listening or just ignoring her, she couldn't tell which. He was looking back at the way they came with an intense look on his face. Then he moved on, without saying a word. Kagome didn't even bother asking; she already knew he wouldn't answer.

"What is it?" Sango inquired, glancing back to where he had looked once before she kept walking, going to Hiei's side.

"It was nothing," he responded, not even looking at her.

_At least she gets a response_, Kagome thought as she went over to walk with Botan.

Sango looked at Hiei. "Why do I feel like you're lying?"

He didn't answer, but after questioning him for a few more minutes, even his stubbornness broke. "I thought I heard something," he said, irritation in his voice, probably for having to explain himself. He was use to working alone.

"Now was that so hard?" she asked. He only glared coldly at her, but it was enough to make her laugh before she left him alone, thinking he probably didn't like her hanging around him.

They walked for another hour in silence before Yusuke felt the need to end the silence—and complain a bit.

"I don't see why we couldn't just take horses," Yusuke complained, "it'd be faster with 'em."

"That sounds like a good idea except how many of you actually know how to ride one?" Kagome inquired. Only Botan responded with an "I can". Motioning toward Botan, she went on to say, "and that's why we're walking." When Yusuke started muttering with a certain foul word here and there, she continued, "besides I'm not going to take a poor, defenseless creature into that forest where it could be easily killed."

"We're taking you, aren't we?" Hiei stated from in front of her.

She glared at his back, hoping he would somehow notice and be uncomfortable. Either way, noticing or not, she had no such luck." Would you stop making comments at my expense?" Kagome asked, annoyed as she shifted the weight of the bag she carried.

"I don't know, it kind of makes things less dull around here," Shizuru commented.

She threw up her hands. "Oh, fine, then let's all just make fun of me," Kagome said dryly.

"It's okay, Kagome," Botan said, resting her forearm on Kagome's shoulder, "I still like you. Even if they don't." Laughing a bit, she passed her as Kagome slowed down her walking.

"That makes me feel much better!" she called after her, her voice thick with sarcasm.

More of the group passed her until she was trailing behind. If Miroku had come with them, she had a feeling he would have tried to cheer her up, but only to make a pass at her or some inappropriate comment. Even the other man, Kurama, seemed polite enough to stick with her, just like Yukina would have, had she been there. Inuyasha probably would have joined in the making fun of her, it was one of his greatest and most enjoyed hobbies. And Botan just didn't seem to notice when she was down. Probably because she tried to hide it.

She took herself out of her thoughts. No use dwelling on things she couldn't change.

It was just that… traveling with a group of near strangers, she felt so… alone.

"Hurry up, Kagome, you're holding up the group!" Sango called back.

"I'm coming," she said, sighing inwardly, before catching up to the rest.

* * *

The group had decided to finally stop once Yusuke tripped twice over unidentified objects, the outdoors becoming too dark to see where they were going. Besides, none of them had slept for over twenty-four hours, making them exhausted. They set up camp at a base of a hill hiding them from view—just in case. A small fire was going in the camp's center, using some twigs and branches from a nearby tree as kindle. The group sat down, surrounding it for its warmth, except Hiei who chose to sit underneath the tree some feet away, wanting solitude. 

They dug into their packs for food, the people who didn't bring any having to share, though all ate sparingly, not knowing what food they would need in the future or how many edible items they would find. The same was true for their water supply, little as it was at the moment.

Kagome sat down in front of the fire across from Botan as she began digging through her pack. Why had she brought so much stuff? It'd only burden her more, having to carry it. Then again, unlike some of the others, she liked having the comfort of knowing she had food and water with her, just in case they weren't able to find any. Some of the other stuff, however, she probably could have done without. Oh, well.

Letting out a small call of triumph, Kagome took out her canteen that she had just found. The walking that day had made her terribly thirsty and she hadn't wanted to stop the group just so she could dig it out of her pack, especially knowing the looks she'd get from a few of them, mainly Hiei.

She spun the cap off and was about to take a sip when it was snatched from her grip. Yusuke ruffled her hair a bit before plopping down next to the noble, her canteen in hand. She gave him a look as he started to drink, waiting for him to give it back.

"Ah, that was refreshing," Yusuke said when he stopped guzzling her drink.

"You're welcome," Kagome said dryly, snatching it back from him. She brought it to her lips, expecting some water to come into her mouth. Nothing. Staring at Yusuke incredulously she said more than asked, "you drank it all!"

He returned her glare, crossing his arms. "What? There's not that much in that little container!" Yusuke protested.

She pushed his shoulder, causing him to sway a bit. "You jerk!"

"Yusuke!" Botan reprehended from the other side of the fire, then to Kagome, "pass that here."

Kagome tossed the canteen her way, making sure it didn't touch the flames, though not sure why Botan would want it. Botan just managed to catch it, though instead of her hands grabbing it was caught between her chest and arms. She took it in both hands and muttered the words 'mare repleo', which Kagome recognized as the Old Tongue. The healer's hands shimmered a faint blue for just a moment, the color slightly lighter than her hair. Then with a nod, she placed the cap back on and threw it back to the noble.

Kagome almost dropped it once she caught it, not expecting it to be so heavy. Shaking the canteen, she heard the gentle shoosh of water. "It's… refilled. How'd you do that?"

"Let me see that," Yusuke said, grabbing it from her hands. She let him inspect it, but when it looked like he might drink some more, she snatched it back, sticking her tongue out at him. He looked amused at the display.

"Mare repleo. It means literally 'sea to replenish', but it works with creating water—drinkable water—as long as I have something to hold it," Botan explained. With a smile, she added, "Healing isn't the only thing I can do."

Kagome half-expected a lecherous remark follow her comment, then remembered Miroku wasn't with them. It was almost sad how predictable Miroku was after only knowing him for one night, even if it was an extremely long one. It had probably been the longest night of her life. Then again, it was the first night she had never slept at all which would generally make it seem much longer, being awake for the entirety of it.

"Can you do the same with food?" Sango asked.

They were a bit surprised to hear her speak seeing as how she and Shizuru had declared awhile ago that they'd be going to sleep and were resting a few feet away from the fire, seemingly not listening to the other conversation. Shizuru was genuinely asleep, but the fighter was watching them from where she lay, specifically looking toward Botan.

Botan shook her head, causing her ponytail to sway back and forth. "Food's more complicated. Too many different elements incorporated in it."

"Too bad," Sango commented, "that could've been very useful." She shifted onto her back, looking up at the stars. "But we'll find a way to get food."

Food. That reminded Kagome. Everyone had eaten at least something that night, no matter how little, save for one. Hiei hadn't even touched a single food item all evening, not having brought any of his own and not asking others for any either. He had just remained on his own, away from the group not even trying to join in any conversation.

Taking the bread she brought, she ripped off a piece of it, a very reasonable-sized piece. She then stood and walked over to Hiei, who was resting with his back leaning against the tree. He opened his eyes to stare coldly at her, obviously not appreciating her hovering over him.

"Here," Kagome said, offering the portion of bread. She let it drop into his lap, knowing he wouldn't take it from her. Goddess forbid he actually got up because of her. And to take something from her? Yeah, he'd stay put.

"I don't want your charity," Hiei snapped.

"But you do need food," Kagome told him, hands on her hips. "We walked all day and you haven't eaten anything."

"If I want food, I'll get my own," he replied crossly. He pushed her offering off him and to the ground.

"Why do you have to be so rude?" she asked, feeling angry herself.

"Hn," he said, looking away. His turning from her was like a slap in the face, his body language telling her how insignificant she was to him.

"Fine," Kagome said, fed up as she walked back to her seat by the fire. She huffed causing Yusuke to glance at her, then thought better of it and stared into the fire instead. He didn't want her venting her anger on him.

There was silence between the group for awhile, though it was a little awkward. It was to be expected, however. They were hardly more than acquaintances, not having the time to get to know each other yet. Some of them hadn't even known each other for a day, though the tension in the air after Kagome's exchange with Hiei made it worse.

Yusuke abruptly stood up, announcing that he was tired as hell, those being his exact words. He placed a hand on top of Kagome's head for a second as he passed before moving on, causing Kagome to look after him curiously and puzzled, but he never turned back. Finding a decent patch of grass not too far from the fire's warmth, he dropped down and was asleep almost instantly, the light snoring obvious evidence of it.

Botan followed later though Kagome wasn't sure exactly when, not having the greatest concept of the time. She said a quiet goodnight and Kagome did the same before Botan, too, settled down for sleep.

The noble held her hands out, putting them as close to the fire as she dared while contemplating whether or not to go to sleep. She was tired, but… she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Nervousness filled her with a touch of eagerness, wondering what awaited them.

Her thoughts wandered since all there was to do was think. Her mind moved from Inuyasha, Yukina, and the others she had left, wondering how they were doing. Then she moved on to the events of the day, making a small frown appear on her face.

"Don't look so down," a woman's voice said.

Kagome looked up, startled, to see Sango standing beside her. She hadn't even heard her get up.

Sango sat down next to her, occupying the space Yusuke had sat in before. "Don't let what anyone says get to you. Today when we were walking… they were just joking around. Days get long when you have nothing to do but walk. It was something to pass the time."

"How did you know?" Kagome asked, incredulously, "are you reading my mind or something?" She was only half-joking. One thing she had learned while living with Inuyasha: never rule out any possibility.

She smiled. "The only thing that I can think of that'd make you frown was either Hiei or what was said today, and you didn't look angry so I ruled out the first," Sango told her.

Kagome frowned further, then sighed deeply, letting some of the tension run out. "I don't think Hiei likes me much."

Sango glanced to where Hiei was, seemingly asleep while leaning against a lone tree not too far from them. She didn't trust the guy, not yet. She wasn't sure she ever would. There was something about him… he was hiding something.

"Hiei doesn't like anyone," Sango replied.

Kagome looked at Sango, her face only half-illuminated by the fire. "He likes you."

A slap to the face from Kagome would have been less surprising than her statement. "What?" Sango said, startled. "What makes you think that?"

"Considering you're the only one he allows near him, I'd say he does. He at least respects you after you fought," informed Kagome.

Seeing the flames dying, Sango went to grab a small branch to throw on the fire then, hiding her face momentarily from Kagome. "Respect, I'll give you, but not so far as like."

"That's like giving the difference of sticks and… you know, other kinds of sticks," Kagome finished weakly and Sango gave her a look. "Don't give me that look, I don't know what I meant either."

Sango laughed, shaking her head, while Kagome smiled. Taking notice, Sango said, "I think that's the first smile I've seen on your face all day."

The noble's face turned serious again as she brought her knees up, her arms hugging her legs. "I guess I've just been worried and… with so many new people around…" Kagome commented.

"You just got to get to know us. None of us really know each other yet either," Sango told her. She nodded toward Shizuru. "I've got the upper hand, having my cousin here. If all else fails I still have Shizuru to talk to, but how much fun would that be? We're stuck together, might as well get to know everyone else."

She sighed, leaning her cheek against her knee. "You're lucky you have at least someone," Kagome declared.

"What about Botan?" Sango asked her. They had seemed friendly enough to one another when Sango had brought Kagome to her house, having definitely at least known of each other beforehand.

Kagome shook her head. "I've met her a few times in the pal—place where I live," she quickly corrected, almost saying palace. She still wasn't comfortable with telling them she was a noble and probably never would be. A lot of the people of the city tended to not like them with good reason, seeing how snobbish many of them acted and how a lot of them kicked around those in the lower class. Kagome continued, "but I still don't know her well."

Not knowing what else to do or say to lift Kagome's spirits, Sango gave it a last try. "Alright, then I will be your first official friend on this journey." She held out her hand expectantly toward the noble.

Her face brightened. "Really?"

"Sure, why not?" Sango said with a shrug, though her lips tugged upward in a smile.

Kagome smiled and took the offered hand, shaking it.

After that they chatted a bit, (Kagome feeling much happier than before) though mostly they stayed in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Feeling much more at ease, Kagome soon retired to bed near Botan, taking out the blanket she had brought to keep her warm and lay it on top of her. It took her only minutes to fall asleep.

* * *

Sango stayed near the fire until she heard Kagome's even breath. She waited a few more seconds, making sure Kagome and the rest were really asleep. Then silently, she stood up, walking toward the small figure, adorned all in black. He looked like he was sleeping, eyes closed and chest rising and falling evenly. She knew better than to believe that and she stood in front of him, waiting for him to acknowledge her. 

It was minutes before he responded, probably waiting to see if she'd give up and go away. Yeah, like he was that lucky.

Hiei didn't even bother opening his eyes as he asked irritably, "what do you want?"

Sango sat down in one graceful movement, crossing her legs in front of her. He had one leg bent, the other straight out as he sat, making her have to sit somewhat to side of him then directly in front, not that it truly mattered.

"So, what, you're never going to sleep during this journey? Always alert?" Sango could see his muscles tense, his annoyance growing. She continued on, "and no eating either? What are you, some superhuman that never needs to eat or sleep?"

Hiei opened his eyes to glare at her, not even bothering to speak. She smiled, though not nicely. "Oh, you do that very well," she mentioned as though she were praising a child, then normally, "do you ever do anything _but_ glare?"

Her own words gave her an idea and her smile grew. Changing her position so that she was crouched down, she put her weight on her heels before leaning in closer to him, all the while keeping their gaze locked. His bent knee was in the way, so she rested her crossed arms on it and she felt the muscles in his leg tense further. Obviously, he didn't like her touching him.

Not entirely content yet, she rested her chin on her crossed arms, just intently watching him, refusing to look anywhere else but at him. She did this until he finally looked away, uncomfortable with her gaze. It was only then that Sango, satisfied at seeing an emotion other than annoyance or anger (plus she had won their staring contest), sat back on her heels once more, giving him his much desired space. She had only wanted to see if he was capable of showing another emotion and more or less surprisingly, he was.

"Was there a reason you came over here? Or was it just to annoy me?" Hiei snapped, turning to look at her once again.

Sango suddenly turned serious. "Go easy on Kagome."

He crossed his arms. "I don't know what you mean."

She let out a short breath that all but told of her obvious disbelief. "You know exactly what I mean."

"I hate people like her," he responded since it was clear the girl wouldn't be satisfied with anything but a straight answer.

"Really? It seemed to be like you just hated people in general. Good to know you like a few," she replied wryly. She expected an angry reply back; he did something much different.

He sprung forward, quicker than anyone she'd ever seen before in her life, and, before she could blink, he had one hand wrapped around her throat, or rather, the material of her clothes, since it half-covered her neck. He had positioned his hand so that it wouldn't have to come in contact with her skin. She concluded two things; he either thought she wasn't worthy enough for him to actually touch her or he had a fear of germs. …Somehow, she didn't think it was the latter.

Sango reached behind her back for a concealed knife, but he seemed to realize what she was doing since he quickly used his free hand to hold her wrist together, again touching her sleeves instead of making contact with her skin. The movement brought them even closer, the front of their bodies touching and their faces not too far away. She leaned back unconsciously to get some space between them. If only her damn legs weren't crossed then she'd be able to catch him by surprise and kick him away…

She remembered Kagome's words from not too long ago, telling Sango that Hiei liked her. _Yeah, right_, she thought. _If this is what he does when he likes someone, I'd hate to see what happens if he _really_ likes someone._

"I've had enough of your curt remarks," he told her, his voice low and dangerous. "Normally you'd be dead right now. Before you even know what happened I could have sliced your throat."

A part of her wanted to respond "then why didn't you?" with a small insult attached to it but the other part of her that was her common sense caught the words before they could be spoken just in time. Silence was best right now, especially after hearing his tone.

Her eyes showed calmness that she didn't feel, but she had long since been able to school her face. However, when she tried to swallow the small lump in her throat (unsuccessfully), she was certain he could feel it, what with his tight grip on her neck.

He smirked. "Hn." Just that one syllable, mocking her terribly as he let her go. Angrily, she took a swing at him, but he quickly was back to where he had started, sitting under the tree. How did he move so damn fast?

"Why do you hate Kagome? You hardly know her," Sango told him.

He glanced at where the girl lay, half-hidden under her cozy blanket, her peaceful face making her seem like she didn't have a care in the world. Hiei sneered. "In just one day, I've seen her fake sweetness and innocence. It's disgusting. I don't care who she is, I want her far from me."

_Then why are you here? What are you planning_? Sango wondered, her eyes narrowing. Aloud, she asked, "How do you know that she's not actually just a good person?"

"Because there's no such thing. And even if she were, all the more reason to hate her."

His voice was so cold, his eyes even colder. She knew at least some of what he did, killing people as he pleased. Even so… how did he get so cold?

"I believe in her." She listened to her own tone as she spoke. Her voice was confident, just this side of warm. And so very different from his.

He didn't seem to care about her opinion, though responded, "that's a fool's choice."

Sango shook her head and stood up. "I don't know what happened to you to make you this way, but Kagome… she's just a genuinely good person." _Or maybe she's just that good of an actress_, another part of her said. Se shook her head again, removing the thoughts from her mind. Kagome wasn't like that. "And we're here to protect her, even you. You agreed to it—though I have no idea why you would, a rabid dog would be kinder—so at least try to be nice." She decided to change her wording. "That's probably impossible for you. Just try not to be so nasty." She glanced to the sleeping girl a few feet away. "She's not use to people not liking her."

With that said, she began walking toward the others and away from the loner among them. She had said all she had wanted to, now she'd give Hiei the space he wanted since he seemed to dislike everyone so much. That was fine with her, she didn't trust him anymore now than she did when they met; less, if it was possible.

Hiei gave her a glare that would have told her just how stupid he thought Sango was being at that moment had she been facing his way. "You hardly know the girl. You can't know any of that."

She didn't pause in her walking, however, she did turn, walking backwards for a moment in order to look at him while she spoke. "Or maybe I just see in her what I've seen in another." Because Kagome… she reminded Sango of someone that she had once held close to her heart. The two had the same spirit. Maybe that was leading her to false conclusions, but she didn't think so. Kagome seemed to be a good person.

"Fool," he muttered, though the wind carried his words to her.

She smiled softly as she took a place by the fire, sitting so that she'd be able to see him out of the corner of her eye. _Maybe_, she thought, _but believing in some is better than believing in none, Hiei._ It was when she saw him grudging take the bread he discarded before and rip off a small piece that Sango's smile grew. _Maybe there's hope for you yet._

* * *

It was about the time Sango was contemplating turning in for the night for the second time, that Hiei abruptly stood up. She eyed him oddly, but she felt it too before long and stood as well. Taking a canteen, she poured it over the dying flame, dousing it completely and darkening the area around them, though they did still have the moon and stars that allowed them to see. 

Both Hiei and Sango unsheathed their blades, a ringing sound occurring as the swords were let free of their sheaths. Kagome, awaken by the sudden commotion, blinked open her eyes slowly, trying to focus them on the two standing people.

"What's wrong?" came the sleepy voice.

Hiei ignored her completely, eyes searching the area, while Sango glanced down at her.

"Something's coming."


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

_Deep in the most deadliest of forests, protected by the creatures of nightmares and lethal curses, is the lost city of ancient times. Within this lost city is held wonderful and terrible magic of healing and destruction, untold secrets, and immeasurable treasure. Many have sought it out, but this fascinating city has only brought death to those who find it. None who journey there come back alive._

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"Something's coming." 

At Sango's words, Kagome became fully alert, sitting up faster than she had ever done before as a sudden rush of energy ran through her tired body. She quickly pushed the blanket off her and stood up, though Sango motioned for her to be quiet and sit back down. Kagome, however, disobeyed part of the order with a frown, only staying back because she didn't want to get in the way of either of them.

Sango shook her head when she saw how she disobeyed, but didn't give the order again. Instead she gestured to Yusuke before going back to scanning their surroundings. It took Kagome a second to figure out what Sango wanted her to do, then realized she wanted her to wake the pickpocket. Quickly she went over to him before kneeling at his side, shaking his shoulder lightly.

No response.

She tried again.

He mumbled incoherently and turned over, giving his back to her.

For a third time, Kagome shook him, though roughly this time, and Yusuke woke with a start, his body jolting as he sat up with a shout. He nearly knocked her over, but she managed to keep her balance by grabbing on to him with one hand for support while at the same time covering his mouth with the other hand. She had seen him take a deep intake of breath and knew he was going to start complaining (and loudly) about being woken up, hence why she kept her hand where it was. Still, he tried to talk, and though his words were muffled, she made out the words, "what the hell is going on?".

When he finally calmed down, she spoke. "There's something coming this way," she murmured to him.

Yusuke used one of his hands to grab her wrist, removing it from his face. "What?" he asked loudly, causing Hiei to glare their way. Oh great, now he had another reason to dislike her, even if it had been Yusuke's fault.

Kagome shushed him and took her hand back, giving him a look. "If I knew _that_, I wouldn't have said 'something' now would I?" She took hold of his arm, taking him with her as she stood up. "Come on."

They were walking toward the two other awake members of their party when Yusuke stopped. "What?" Kagome inquired quietly.

He glanced down at her. "Don't you hear it?"

Instead of replying with an annoyed remark, she paused to listen. Then she finally heard it, the sound that had alerted both Sango and Hiei. It was distant, but… yes, she knew that sound quite well, well enough to distinguish it. The thundering of hooves.

There were horses approaching from the way they had come and it sounded like quite a few, but that may have been the sound echoing off the hills around them. They could not see anything, however, since they had based camp at the bottom of a hill, hiding them from view. Unfortunately at the same time, it veiled any would-be attackers from them, putting them at a disadvantage had they not been alerted.

Yusuke suddenly pushed Kagome behind him and walked up to stand between Sango and Hiei. Kagome's face must have showed her annoyance; she didn't want to be pushed aside, even if they were there to help her. The keyword in that phrase was _help_. She didn't need to be in a protective bubble where no one could touch her, she just wanted to have people to assist her on her journey. She didn't want to stand by and do absolutely nothing.

Yusuke asked Sango a few murmured questions since he knew that Hiei would be less likely to answer. Kagome couldn't hear what it was he said and it made her all the more nervous, not knowing what was going on. She found herself glancing at her still sleeping companions. They'd be awaken if need be. The group didn't know yet if whoever was out there were horses were coming for them or even knew they were there. Better for the two girls to sleep and not worry.

Without a word to either of the other two, Hiei began to head up the hill, toward the sound of hooves. Sango wanted to protest, to say something along the lines of 'we should figure a plan out _together_' but knew already that he wouldn't listen. With a shrug to Yusuke (though it was anything but nonchalant), she followed their mysterious companion, unconsciously tightening her grip on her sword.

Yusuke stayed behind, going back over to Kagome. "What's going on?" Kagome asked.

"Don't know," was his simple response, though she felt he was keeping something from her. She wasn't sure though, so there was no point in arguing his words. Instead she turned her attention to the two climbing the hill.

The more sensible plan of action, at least how Kagome saw it, would have been to lay down on the hill, covered in darkness, and peek over the edge to see who or what they were dealing with. Hiei, however, only stood on top of it, wanting to see whoever it was approaching, as though he would not lower himself to do such things as hiding. Sango followed his lead only because it would prove no use remaining concealed when he was already in plain sight.

While Sango squinted her eyes to better see what was drawing near, Hiei abruptly put his sword away, which puzzled Kagome. Sango kept hers out and ready as she called back down to them, "there are two riders approaching, galloping this way." Neither spoke for a moment as Sango continued to watch, then muttered, "I don't believe this," with a shake of her head. She turned back around to glance down at the noble as she put her sword back in its sheath. "Kagome, you better come and see this."

Kagome looked over to Yusuke, who only shrugged, not knowing what was going on either. With no reason not to, Kagome began climbing the hill, Yusuke not too far behind.

"So he came after all," she heard Hiei say as she ascended.

"Can I kill the one on the left anyway?" Sango asked, turning to look at him. Her voice sounded serious, but she wasn't really. Well, maybe a little bit.

"Hn, you have my permission." Sango was almost certain she saw his lips turn upward in a fraction of a smile. Then again, it could have been her imagination. She was more inclined to believe the latter theory.

Her curiosity growing more and more by the second, Kagome finally reached the top and looked out at the hilly terrain. The wind tousled her hair and moved it momentarily in front of her face as she squinted, trying to make out the rider's faces in the night, only the moonlight keeping it from being totally dark. That's when she felt a jolt of surprise.

The horses had stopped their fast pace at the command of their riders, now walking toward them at a leisurely pace. The animals were probably exhausted from so much riding anyway. Of course, none of that was the surprising part. What was startling were the people riding toward them.

"Hello," Miroku called to them with a charming smile. He was the picture of perfect ease, leaning forward, resting his crossed arms on the back of the horse's neck as it slowly walked.

Some part of Kagome was thinking of how funny it'd be if he fell off. It wasn't exactly the best or safest way to ride a horse, even if it was only walking. The bigger part of her was just ecstatic that he was there, right in front of her.

"You came!" Kagome exclaimed happily, dashing the last few feet to him and grabbing the reins to make his horse come to a stop. "What made you change your mind?"

Miroku dismounted, jumping down to stand near the future queen. "It didn't sit well with me, sending such lovely ladies into the forest without my help. I did, after all, help enlist them," he informed her. Taking one of Kagome's hands from the reins, he laid a gentle kiss on the back of it. If it wasn't for that fact that that was how all the noble men usually greeted a high-classed lady, it would have made her very uncomfortable. As it was, it still made her blush since she wasn't expecting it.

"But you don't care about us guys. Thanks man," Yusuke told his friend, his voice thick with sarcasm as both he and Sango moved closer to the pair. He, of course, would never take any offense from the lack of concern. Flirting came first for the ex-noble. Call it one of his quirks. You either dealt with it, or you had a hard time being friends with the lecherous bastard.

Miroku gave Yusuke a smirk before he moved forward to stand in front of Sango. She crossed her arms as she watched him suspiciously, hands out of his reach.

His smirk turned into a full-out grin. "I see one day of traveling hasn't worn your hostile spirit at all," he informed her.

"I'm only hostile toward _you_ and your lecherous attempts," she responded, leaning toward him in an attempt at intimidation, her eyes no softer.

"So against just a small kiss…" He took a step forward, reaching for her hand, causing her to jump back and run into Hiei.

Kagome smiled and, after seeing Sango's blushing face (though she tried to hide it) as the conversation continued, she laughed a bit as well. When she heard a quiet laugh beside her, she finally turned to regard the second rider.

It took him a moment to notice her gaze, but when he did, he looked down at her inquiringly.

She bowed, feeling the need to be formal, unlike how she had greeted Miroku. "Thank you for coming."

Miroku seemed like an old friend, even after only spending half a day together. This man still felt very much like a stranger.

She heard the soft rustling of material before he dropped gracefully and almost soundlessly to the ground. One of the only reasons she had known he had done so was by his shoes, coming into her line of vision.

"Please, stand up straight," the smooth voice came. Kagome slowly looked up to meet emerald eyes as he continued, "I'm not use to people being so formal."

"But you came. Why the change of heart?" Kagome inquired, asking the same thing she had to Miroku. Or at least, she thought she had.

Kurama shook his head. "Just a change of mind."

She frowned inwardly at his words, her face taking on a perplexed look. To her they meant the same thing, yet he went out of his way to change the wording. It puzzled her. "Then what changed it?"

He gave her a look she was unable to read, before replying, "just a few words a friend said reminded me of something."

Kagome titled her head to the side, a curious look on her face. "And what's that?"

"It's a long story," he said as he turned away, gathering the reins of his horse.

She crossed her arms, a slight pout on her lips. "Oh, fine, be secretive," she told him, though her eyes twinkled.

Kurama gave her a slight smile as he walked closer, pulling his horse along before taking the reins of Miroku's horse as well. "I'll take them now. The camp is at the base of the hill, is it not?"

She nodded mutely to his question. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something bothered her when she spoke with him, just like it had the first time, in the back room where they first met. He was extremely well spoken and polite, uncannily so, but… the politeness made him distance. Even when just simply talking, he was distancing himself from her.

Kagome shrugged it off, however, not wanting to think too hard on the subject. Perhaps it was only because they were still strangers. Yes, that was it. Then once he got to know them, all of them….

Just as Kurama began to pass the group, Yusuke stopped him with a comment.

"So you're the so-called genius Hiei wanted to come along," Yusuke stayed. He looked at Kurama, sizing him up. Hiei had mentioned he was a fighter too, but the new arrival didn't look very impressive. Looked to have a delicate quality about him, but not as frail as other highly intelligent people tended to be.

Kurama took the evaluation without any sort of annoyance since he'd been doing the same with the unfamiliar faces around him. "I wouldn't call myself a genius," he replied. He was being cautious.

"He is," Hiei stated. There it was, the words were set in stone.

"Wow, a compliment from Hiei," Kagome said.

"He must really be intelligent to get recommended by shorty," Sango chipped in. She almost bit her tongue afterward. Now how did that insult slip in?

Yusuke grinned at the fighter. "Oh, nice nickname. I'll have to remember that."

Hiei glared at them both, but made no comment. He simply began following Kurama as he made his way to their little camp.

Surprisingly, Kagome came to Hiei's defensive. Well, sort of. "It wasn't that complicated of an insult and you still need to make a special note of it? That's sad, Yusuke." Mostly, she had just wanted to poke fun at Yusuke. Hey, they had no problem doing so to her that afternoon, she had a right to take a few shots back at them.

His eyes burned with irritation as hers danced with laughter. He seemed about to make another comment back, something definitely unpleasant that would no doubt start a contest of witty insults, but he stopped when Sango gave his shoulder a little, friendly shove.

"Go off to bed, Yusuke. Wouldn't want you to be cranky tomorrow because of lack of sleep," Sango told him, while the girls shared a look of somewhat laughter.

He let out a breath. "Yeah, whatever," he grumbled to her and began down the hill. She followed silently.

Miroku was about to do the same when Kagome caught his arm. "How'd you convince him to come?" she questioned, referring to man, who was tending to the horses at the moment.

"I didn't, he found me," he informed her.

"What? But how…?" Kagome had been the only one to go and talk to Kurama. While Miroku knew where to find him since Hiei had told the group, Kurama had no idea who her other recruits were besides Hiei. So how did he know to find Miroku?

Miroku shrugged. "I was regretting my decision and was about to follow you, when he came along. Seeing me about to leave, somehow he knew and suggested horses if we were going to catch up. We stole a pair and rode for the rest of the day and, well, here we are." He followed her gaze. "Quite a reserved man, he is."

Kagome nodded in agreement and the two walked down to the campfire. Kagome said her goodnights there, the exhaustion from a long day suddenly pulling at her again. She glanced at Botan and Shizuru as she snuggled under her blanket.

Man, would they have a surprise when they woke up tomorrow.

* * *

Yusuke patted the neck of the black stallion. "See Kagome, this isn't that hard, we could've taken these things." 

Said girl put her hands on her hips as she watched him, a safe distance away. "'These things' are animals that don't always respond well to having _inexperienced _riders on them."

He grinned down at her. "You're just mad that I proved you wrong."

Her argument was weak as she tried to keep from pouting. "Am not." Truth was, he was right, but she'd wouldn't admit it.

He continued to parade the horse around while she turned her back on him, starting to move toward the blanket she had left on the ground. She began folding it and was about to put it back in her bag when she heard a cry behind her. She spun around, just in time to see Yusuke get bucked off the horse, falling hard onto his back on the ground.

The stallion snorted and moved away from the man, giving him a look that all but said 'you deserved it'. Kagome rushed forward, peering down at him. "Are you okay? What happened?" she asked worriedly.

He let out a grunt. "Yeah. He wouldn't turn left," he said, then muttered, "damn stupid horse…"

Assured that he was alright, she said haughtily, "that's what you get for being careless." Kagome then moved on to go comfort the horse, telling him to forgive the "mean man" as she pet his nose in an attempt to calm the animal's feelings of distrust.

The rest shook their heads at the display or, in Botan's case, laughed at Yusuke's stupidity, but Sango was the only was that moved toward him. Yusuke glanced at the girl as she loomed over him, a smile on her face, at his expense, of course.

"Guess he showed you who's boss, eh?" she told him, though she reached a hand down. After a pregnant moment, he took the offered hand and she helped him to his feet.

The group had eaten a quiet breakfast that morning with just a few questions from Shizuru and Botan, like when the hell the two guys come along. Both took in the new members, or rather, just the unfamiliar one since they at least knew Miroku to a degree.

Even though Kurama knew he was being scrutinized by more than just the two girls, he seemed unfazed, only continuing to go about his business. He took the packs that the group had and strapped them on to one horse since there was no point in carrying such heavy bags when they had a perfectly good horse. It was decided that the few of them that knew how to ride horses would alternate riding the extra. Yusuke was a perfect example of why only the experienced would ride. It seemed the horses didn't take too kindly about being stolen and only the people that knew what they were doing had a chance of staying on.

The rest went on with whatever they liked that morning, some doing the few chores that were necessary while the others lounged about, preparing themselves for another long day of walking. They were only momentarily distracted by Yusuke's antics before returning their attention elsewhere.

Kagome watched Botan douse the dying fire with a simple word of power, which led to the healer and Kurama discussing magic, Kurama curious about her powers. She then turned her attention to Yusuke, who spoke with Miroku, though the former still seemed a bit grouchy. Hiei looked annoyed at them all, taking so long to start the day. Had he been alone, he'd have started moving hours ago.

Though her legs protested to a great extent, Kagome stood back up from her spot on the grass, trying to wince. Her legs were sore from so much walking the previous day, she wasn't use to it at all. Her 'profession' as a noble didn't require much work, if any, depending on the person and their wealth.

Sango was the first to notice her discomfort even when she tried to hide it. "Maybe you should be first to ride, Kagome," she told the noble. Seeing her about to protest, she continued, "no offense, but you'll slow us down the way you are now. And Hiei looks irritated enough already," she added, glancing briefly at him.

Kagome knew she was right. Though she would have liked to prove she could keep up with the rest of them, somehow she knew she couldn't, not how she was at that moment. She wasn't use to such work, being pampered by servants most of her life. Sure, she did go riding and for the occasional walk, but nothing to this magnitude.

With a sigh, she nodded in agreement as she walked over to the stallion. He eyed her cautiously, obviously still not trusting anyone since his last rider. With a little bit of convincing, her voice soft and soothing, she managed to get him to retain some peacefulness.

"Do you need help?" she heard Kurama ask behind her.

"I've got it, but thanks," she responded, offering him a smile. Silently hoping the stallion wouldn't resist her, she climbed on. His ears twitched, but that was about all. Kagome inwardly sighed in relief.

If Kurama was surprised that she wasn't riding sidesaddle, he didn't show it. She had often gotten complaints that it wasn't "ladylike" to sit on a horse the way she did, but she didn't care and ignored their comments. It was the way her father had taught her, and she'd stay with it.

Seeing her mounted and ready to go, the others took the hint and completed whatever task they had been doing. Within a few minutes the group took off, starting another long day of walking. Something they'd all be doing a lot of until they reached the forest. Then looked for the city. Then obtained the remedy. Then returned home.

…oh, joy. It sounded positively riveting.

_Hadn't thought about that fact much, _Kagome mused.

It seemed thoughts plagued them all during the day's journey since there was not much else to do. Between the group they had nothing to talk about, at least nothing they felt comfortable discussing with near strangers.

Kagome, however, was not able to travel in such uneasy silence. She drew a breath as though to speak to the person in front of her, but no words left her mouth. The redhead glanced curiously back, wondering why she hadn't spoken. He was leading the horse holding their bags and hers, which she had not protested. It was nice to have someone nearby. And he was much better to have next to her than Hiei, who already looked down on her, or Yusuke, who surely would make some sarcastic remarks at her expense.

"I just realized," she told him, noticing his gaze. "I don't know what to call you."

An inquisitive look took over his face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know you told me Shuichi was your real name, but you also have the alias Kurama, which is what Hiei said your name was, though you said you don't really go by that anymore. So… which do you want to be called?"

He didn't answer for awhile as he continued to lead the horses. "…Kurama will do just find," he replied finally just when she thought he wouldn't.

Kagome smiled at him, though he couldn't see it with his back turned toward her. "Kurama, it is then."

* * *

The sun looked as though it were indecisive as to whether to set or not, just hanging in the sky, neither high above them nor being chased away by the darkening sky. They knew, however, they'd have an hour or possibly two before the night truly came. Besides knowing when the sun set and when it rose, time was meaningless to them. 

"We're not too far off now," Hiei had said.

They trusted his judgement. No one knew how he knew, (at least, Kagome was sure the majority of them didn't know), but they didn't feel like asking either. His annoyance toward them before seemed like nothing compared to how he was acting currently. Kurama was the only one who didn't eye him warily from time to time.

Kagome remained on top of the stallion since no one else that knew how to ride showed a desire to get onto the horse. Being gentlemen, at least in spirit, Miroku and Kurama declined the offer to ride. Besides, Miroku had added, they spent the whole day before riding, it was someone else's turn. Botan, too, had refused the Kagome's suggestion. Though her legs had been stiff, she had used a bit of her magic to loosen her tender muscles. Lucky her.

"You see over that way?" Kurama said, nodding over to their left.

Kagome looked over that way, as did many of the others in the group, having listened in on the (very) few, lighthearted conversations Kurama, Kagome, and Botan had exchanged throughout the day. Kagome searched where he had nodded to, but saw only the hilly terrain, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Yes," she replied, doubt in her voice.

Hearing her hesitation, he told her, "look closer."

Her brow creasing in a frown, she squinted and just managed to see what he was talking about.

"It's a town!" Botan called out before Kagome had a chance to.

"I didn't know there were any towns so close to the forest," the noble said with surprise clear in her voice.

"Yes, they've been there for quite some time. It's a small town, but people do live there. They don't take kindly to any being with magic or the supernatural though. Their fear of the mystical have driven them to anger and hostility toward any who wields such power."

"Well that's hardly fair!" Botan exclaimed. Being the healer of the group, her powers would be considered magic by the villagers.

Most attention drew to her then, but Sango couldn't help but notice the hard glare Hiei was giving Kurama. Kurama met the gaze evenly. Sango watched the silent exchange before Hiei looked away first.

"Although I'm _glad_ for the wonderful history lesson, what does that have to do with anything?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry, I've digressed. I only meant to point out that we're close to the forest. A half of an hour away, my guess would be since that's about how far the town is from it."

Hiei sneered. "With this group, it'll take longer than that. I've never made such slow progress."

Most of them fueled by his statement and heartened by Kurama's, the group moved faster than before, making good time. Surprisingly, they were able to reach their first destination before sundown.

They had reached the edge of the forest.

The group had stopped a short distance from it, no one even attempting to take another step forward. It was as though the second they took that first step into the forest, everything they heard of, all the monsters and nightmares, all the stories, they would become true. There they stood in front of the place that most of them had feared when they were younger, a place of horror and death.

It looked so… normal.

Hiei stood the closest to it, seeming impatient with them all, even more so than before. However, no one was paying attention to him, instead transfixed with the ordinary-looking trees in front of them.

"Deep in the most deadliest of forests…" Sango began the legend.

"…protected by the creatures of nightmares and lethal curses…" her cousin, Shizuru, took up the tale.

"I feel oddly disappointed," Yusuke announced to no one in particular, interrupting their recitation. "_This_ is what people are afraid of?"

"Even the most timid-seeming animals have claws," Miroku reminded his friend. He didn't even bother looking at him when he said it, his gaze fixed ahead.

"Like bunnies?" Sango asked with a small smile. She was trying to make light of the situation because, truth was, she was nervous about what they would face once they entered.

Yusuke sent her a questioning look. "Do bunnies even have claws?"

"Are you kidding me?" Shizuru answered, giving him a 'you're-an-idiot' look, while Sango began, "well, yeah—"

"Yes, they do, but what I meant is we don't know yet what lies inside," Miroku interrupted.

"So it's like a chest that we don't know what's inside and when we open it…" the fighter began.

"Big surprise," Shizuru finished.

"Surprise, bunnies?"

There was silence as they stared at Yusuke.

"Yes. Yes there are bunnies with claws inside the chest," Sango replied dryly, "_that's_ the big, nasty surprise."

"I've known you two days, your intelligence level is already worrying me," Shizuru muttered mostly to herself, but referring to Yusuke.

Meanwhile, Botan had taken a step forward, her eyes closed. "How are you guys joking?" Her voice was sharp and entirely serious, which was odd coming from her. Her bubbly personality usually spilled into her voice, but it was gone when she spoke those words. The three that had been joking immediately silenced, their smiles disappearing as they grew solemn once more.

"Don't you feel it? There's power surrounding the place. So much of power..."

She took another step forward, but was thrown out of her trance when her foot met something hollow. Her eyes snapped back open and she looked down. "What's this?" she asked, her voice back to normal. A few let out small sighs, the solemn mood gone, replaced by a lighter atmosphere.

Botan knelt and grabbed the object, bouncing back up to her feet. "Oh, it's a sign!" She then frowned. "I can't read any of this though." She turned toward the rest of the group, standing a few feet behind her. "I think it's written in the Old Tongue."

"But when you did magic you said…" Sango began, but didn't finish, not remembering the words she had spoke.

Botan nodded. "I can speak it. Never learned to read it though."

"If I may," Kurama asked politely. Botan walked closer and handed it to him, while Kagome looked down, catching a glimpse of the sign. After a few seconds of studying it, the redhead spoke. "To all those who enter here…" Kurama read.

"Death awaits you," Kagome finished soberly, speaking for the first time in awhile.

Yusuke looked at her strangely. "Okay… I get genius boy over here being able to read it, but why can you?"

Kagome's face flushed as all their attention drew to her and she quickly tried to find a lie that would work. "My, er, father… he was a scholar and he taught me. Yeah, he taught me to read and all…"

Truthfully, it _had_ been her father who taught her, but it was because it was part of her education as a noble as well as something he wanted to teach her. Not many people still knew the Old Tongue, but since he did he passed the skill on to his daughter.

The group seemed satisfied with the answer, though Miroku gave her a withering look at her near escape and Botan looked like she might start bursting out with giggles. Okay, so lying wasn't really her thing. But they believe her and that was all that mattered, right?

With nothing more to say, Kagome hopped down from stallion and went to the other horse, unlatching her bag as did Botan. Meanwhile Kurama and Miroku worked on unsaddling the two animals. Kagome did not want to bring them into the forest where they'd be put in danger, especially if all was said about the place was true. While Yusuke had disagreed, it was ultimately her decision. It was still her journey and she'd make the decisions. Though she wasn't sure she really wanted that responsibility.

Once Miroku spent the horses galloping away, Kagome turned her attention back to the deadly forest in front of her. She bowed her head, saying a silent pray to the Goddess, as she had done so often since Inuyasha's illness became known. _Please, guide me. I don't know where to go or even if I'll find what I'm looking for. I need strength for the journey ahead. And… I'm not sure I can do it alone. _

Then again, she wasn't alone, was she?

She glanced at each of her new allies, different emotions shining on each of their face, or in Hiei's case, lack there of. Still, between them all she saw determination along with some nervousness, but their eagerness overran any doubtful emotions. Just looking at them… she was ready.

"Alright, let's go in."

Their true journey had begun.


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Six**

* * *

The trees rustled softly in the wind, the branches swaying, rubbing gently against one another. Moonlight seeped through where it could, shining down and pooling certain parts of the surrounding in light, though most of it was blocked by various trees. Crickets chirped and traces of small animals could be seen and heard, if one opt to focus on them. The fire crackled as the wood burned into ash, the small embers flying into the night air. 

Quiet. Normal.

"They call this a deadly forest?" Yusuke said, his voice seeming overly loud in the silence. Some turned their gaze to him; others didn't even bother. "I've seen bunnies deadlier than this."

Sango shook her head. Somehow, she was not at all surprised at his words. "Again with the bunnies," she replied a bit softer, stretching her arms above her head.

He watched her as she stood. "You started it," was his childish response.

The fighter opened her mouth to argue, only to realize he was right. Without a word, she walked away and lay down between Shizuru and Kagome, sparing a glance at the deep-sleeping healer. She could almost be envious of her. Almost. Poor Botan had exhausted herself so much between walking and healing her sore muscles all day.

"This is only the beginning," Kurama stated in response to Yusuke's initial comment. His voice was so sure, there was no room for argument if any of them had wished to.

In all truth, some of them were worried. The forest was so ordinary. It was such a disappointment that it wasn't the fearsome place they had heard tales about. If the forest didn't live up to their expectations, if it didn't hold any deadly traps like they had thought, what about all the tales about the Lost City? Would there even be a city at all? And even if there was, would it hold what they were searching for? There were so many questions, and no answers in sight.

"The deeper we get into the forest…" Sango said sleepily from her spot on the ground, closing her tired eyes. When she didn't continue, Shizuru finished for her, "The more dangerous things will get."

There was a brief silence before Hiei responded, "I'll believe that when I see it." The comment abruptly ended all conversation, except for one comment Sango managed to say even in her tiredness, though it was half yawned.

"…you always have to argue, don't you?…" She was so out of it when spoke, the others were unsure if she was aware she said it, or even if she meant to do so aloud. On that ending note she drifted off, making it impossible to argue with her. The fact that Hiei would have only proved her point more, much to his annoyance. Instead of making any remark even if she couldn't hear, he looked away with a soft, "hn."

Yusuke was the last to retire for the night, finding a decent spot to sleep. Kurama was the only one that stayed awake, telling the others that he would keep watch for the night. Even if they hadn't encountered any trouble yet, they didn't know what would come. It'd be safer to have someone look out and if nothing happened… well, no harm done.

Whether Hiei remained awake or not was uncertain, however. They had thought he was asleep before, sitting on a low branch of a tree (though the safety of that puzzled some), but his sudden comment in their conversation proved them wrong. His whole presence in their group and why he was there remained a mystery to all, except Kurama who seemed to know things others didn't. He was another enigma in the group, though his presence wasn't as unsettling as Hiei's.

Kagome was still awake during the time the others talked, though in half-sleep state where she could hear them, but was not awake enough to respond. She just couldn't drift into a deep slumber and become blissfully unaware. It was not that she wasn't tired, she was utterly exhausted from a long day of walking not to mention her sore muscles that were never able to rest. No, as pampered as it sounded, she was accustom to sleeping on a feather-filled mattress. The grass she had slept on before she could get used to. The assortment of twigs and small stone under her, she could not.

She shifted for the umpteenth time, bringing her blanket more tightly around her, making sure her face was covered by it so any insects couldn't bite at her. She curled in more tightly around herself for the little warmth it did her, when she suddenly heard a voice.

"If you are still awake, you might as well come by the fire," she heard the smooth voice say. "It'll be warmer."

She stayed absolutely still. Was he talking to her? Or was there someone else awake? Kagome peeked out from under her blanket, but saw that Kurama was not looking her way. Hesitantly she sat up, the blanket pooling in her lap. She gathered it up in her arms and walked over the fire, taking a spot near Kurama. She didn't sit next to him, but neither did she sit across from him. She left just enough room between them so that a person could sit comfortably in the space.

He did not speak and she could think of nothing to say, leaving them in an awkward silence—at least on her part since his thoughts were unknown. But what could be said?

Kagome shifted again, not even comfortable in her seat by the fire, making Kurama glanced over to her. "You'll get used to it," he told her. "The human body can adapt to almost anything, given the time." She looked visibly surprised by his word, which made a small smile appear on his face. About to ask, he continued, "you have a very expressive face and I'm very good at reading people."

"Oh," was her simple response while she felt herself frown slightly. Was that a bad thing? Should she try to conceal her thoughts and feelings so they weren't so obvious to anyone who might see her? She supposed she could, if she worked at it, but… Kagome mentally pushed the thoughts away. They were silly thoughts anyway. She could be no one, but herself. If she had an expressive face, than so be it.

It grew quiet between them again, but it was more comfortable than before, making both of them content to just sit in the silence. Kurama, however, was slightly worried. Something was wrong. He listened intently to the sounds around them, hearing the few animals that crept through the night. What disturbed him was the sound became less and less as the night went on. What did they know that the group did not? What was coming to frighten the animals away? Or perhaps he was worrying too much and they were moving _because_ of the group's presence. All the while he thought, he was aware of Kagome's gaze.

The fire gave his hair an orange look as well as his skin, though not as dark. His gaze was directed at fire, but his emerald eyes were unfocused and Kagome was sure he wasn't actually seeing the flames, instead lost deep in thought. Unlike most of the others, his clothes didn't show the signs of travel. His white shirt was devoid of any and all blemishes, not even the smallest hint of a grass stain. His brown pants lacked any holes, which none of the others could say after a day of branches snagging onto their clothing. He wore the standard clothes for the lower class, like the other men there, beside Hiei who was still clad in all black. Relatively new boots were on his feet, looking much more comfortable than Kagome's own.

She didn't even realize she was staring until he shifted purposefully, probably trying to throw her out of her trance without actually having to point out she was staring. Kagome was certain he was trying to save her the embarrassment, but she blushed anyway, her cheeks heating up. To hide it as best she could, she spoke to distracted him and herself as well.

"What's that?" Kagome asked, pointing to the weapon coiled at his side. A part of her scolded, _It's a whip, stupid. What do you think it is?_, but that was the little part of her that thought like Inuyasha. It was bound to happen after spending so much time with the arrogant prince. She rephrased her question. "I mean, I know it's a whip, but why are there little spikes on it?"

Covering the entire weapon about an inch apart from each other were little pointy objects that reminded her of thorns, though she knew they were not. The noble reached out a hand to touch one, but he caught her wrist lightly, dropping it almost as soon as he captured it.

"Careful, they might prick you," he cautioned. She held her hand close to her, holding her wrist where he had held it in an almost protective gesture, though protective against the threat the thorn-like spikes presented or against him was uncertain. He went on, explaining, "they make it a more efficient weapon. With the right angle and speed, it could tear through the body."

"That sounds… deadly," Kagome responded, her mouth twisted into a half-smile.

They talked a bit more during the night about anything that came to mind. His eyes seemed to soften when he saw her laugh and smile, making her feel entirely comfortable in his presence, while he enjoyed the company. She usually started the conversations to which he gave a soft response and they went on a bit before the words died between them, but sometimes words weren't needed for them to understand one another. When the time came along when he began, she was pleasantly surprised. Though the topic he chose, she suddenly became less happy.

"Why is it that you wish to go to the Lost City?" He watched her closely as he asked it, meeting her eyes and holding them.

She didn't want to lie to the group, she really didn't. They were helping her, possibly risking their lives to do so and yet… she had to remain quiet. Too many people despised nobles and loathed the monarchy. She was afraid of what their reaction might be. If she told them, would they hate her? Or worse, would they no longer help her?

She tore her eyes away from his, not able to lie straight to his face, though she hoped he didn't realize that was why she would not meet his eyes. Instead she looked down at one of her hands, fisted in the material of her skirt, while the other clasped her necklace. "Well… my…" she hesitated, "my friend is very sick and I though that maybe if I found the city…" She left it there, knowing he would understand. Now all she had to do was remember what she told him so she wouldn't be caught in her fib later on. Well, at least it wasn't too far off from the truth.

He watched her for a good deal longer and whatever he saw must have satisfied him because he finally looked away. Kagome let out a silent breath she didn't even know she was holding. She really did not want to have to deal with any other question she didn't know how to answer, so it was only a few minutes later that she took her leave. She said a quiet goodnight to Kurama before going back to her spot on the ground, exhaustion from a long day pulling at her.

This time her mind was too preoccupied with thoughts for the hard, bumpy ground to give her any trouble. She fell into a deep slumber, her thoughts plaguing her dreams.

* * *

She ached all over. Well, not all over, but the majority of her body. Muscles she didn't even know she _had_ were feeling sore. But through that, Kagome refused to give up or even show any sign of her suffering. If the others could keep going, keep walking endlessly, then so could she. Besides, Hiei looked down on her already, she didn't need to give him more reason to. Maybe if she stayed on his good side long enough, he wouldn't be so hostile toward her anymore. 

It wasn't just the walking either. Oh no, Goddess forbid it be that easy. There was no beaten path, no one having dared enter or journey far enough in to even think of making one. Meaning they had to constantly push branches out of the way as they tried to snap back and hit them, step over fallen trees, watch out for sudden declining slope that the brush often hid, and other such obstacles that furthered their sudden hate of nature.

A few feet ahead of her, Yusuke abruptly stopped and half-sat, half-fell down, leaning back heavily against a tree. "There's no way I can walk anymore. I'm in good physical condition, but walking three days straight is _crazy_." He stretched out his sore legs and gave a small sigh of relief as he began to work the tension out.

"We need to keep moving," Hiei informed him, annoyance clear in his voice.

"Ten minutes of rest could do us good," Miroku responded, backing up his friend.

"You giving up too?" Botan asked, turning toward him. She was as agile as ever and he was certain she could walk another three days without a single problem.

"Ah, but see, my lovely friend, we don't all have your ability," he informed her. She'd been using her healing ability to keep her body from hurting under the strain. "And while I would ask you to share, you'd be too exhausted to heal us all and keep our canteens filled. Besides, if someone got hurt…"

"We'd be screwed," Yusuke concluded, making Miroku give him a look and say, "to put it vulgarly, yes." Yusuke rolled her eyes.

The healer didn't look swayed by his elegantly placed words. "Still, we should keep going, we can't waste time…" Botan began. She didn't finish on _why_ time was such a factor, though a few of them understood her meaning, especially Kagome and Miroku. The longer they took, the more likely the chance that Inuyasha could… fade away.

Miroku leveled her gaze. He knew the full importance of their mission, more than others did. "But surely a few minutes wouldn't make that much of a difference."

"You can't know that," Botan declared, hands on her hips while she glared.

The two began arguing back at forth, though surprisingly neither ever raised their voices and while Botan was tempted to, she matched his tone. Though the quieter their words got, the more angry they were. There were a few interjections from Yusuke as well as one or two from Hiei, who was fed up with them all, wondering exactly _why_ he had agreed to any of this…

Sango spoke just loud enough for her voice to be heard over the fighting and the one word she said brought their arguing to an end. "Kagome?"

The group glanced at her, waiting expectantly. It was her journey after all and it made her the unspoken leader, at least at this point. She just wasn't sure she wanted the job and she was certain some of the others didn't want her to have it or didn't know if she could handle it. Kagome herself wasn't sure.

She looked at each one of them in turn, her mind racing, trying to figure out what to do. No matter what she said she couldn't make everyone happy. Her gaze found Kurama's last and held it the longest. Her eyes were pleading, looking for guidance.

"It's only ten minutes," was all he would say. It wasn't much of an answer, but it would do. He wanted her to make her own decisions, but his words were enough to help her decide.

She nodded, mostly to herself, and declared, "let's rest for a bit."

"Thank the Goddess," Shizuru muttered as she slid to the ground and her cousin joined her. Sango sent Kagome an approving smile, which Kagome sent back tentatively. What did she approve of? Her decision, or the fact that she had come to it on her own?

"Fools," Hiei muttered under his breath, though his body was tense. He looked over to the side, gazing into the depths of the forest. Kurama noticed his gaze and looked at him curiously when he finally glanced his way. Hiei inclined his head the slightest bit toward the direction he had been looking, a movement that only the people that knew him well would even have noticed. Kurama looked off into the direction as well, a sudden uneasiness building within him. No one else saw the exchange.

The time passed all too quickly it seemed because what felt like only moments later, they were forced to rise to their feet again. They began walking and those that complained could no do so any longer since they gotten what they wished for.

It was only a few minutes after that Yusuke spoke up. "Damn it, this is so dull!" he declared as he kicked a stone in his frustration. It went flying through the air and hit a small notch in the tree, what he had been aiming for. Yippee.

A sudden cry was heard in the distance, making the group stop abruptly in their steps, turning toward the noise. It wasn't a human sound they heard. Botan sent Yusuke a glare, clearing blaming him, while Kagome asked the question everyone was pondering. "What was that…?"

No one dared to move or even breath too loudly. There was silence for a long time… until the cry was heard again, closer than before. The sound vibrated around them and sudden trampling was heard coming toward the group.

"…I think we just found you some excitement, Yusuke," Sango told him. The ringing of metal was heard as she took out her sword, followed by others. She glanced over at the pickpocket. "Are you ready for it?"

A sly smile appeared on his face. "Hell yeah," he responded, changing his stance to get ready for a fight.

The sound was coming closer and getting louder, the trees swaying with the force. The more sensitive among them could feel the earth begin to tremble under their feet as whatever _thing_ it was came toward them.

"Well, I'm not," Botan said haughtily, taking a step back from the fighters. As long as she talked she could distract herself from the nervousness she was feeling.

"If you can't stand the fucking heat…" Yusuke started.

"Get out of the kitchen," Miroku said, knowing it as a phrase his friend liked to say.

Everyone could feel the way the earth shook under their feet, so much so that the small stones and twigs on the ground bounced up and down at the force it held. The sound, the crying of whatever _thing_ it was kept making, was nearly deafening.

"Got directions to the nearest exit?" Sango inquired of Yusuke, making her voice loud enough so he could hear it over the noise.

He gave her an odd look with a scornful hint to it. He _thought_ she was a fighter, so why was she seeking a way out? "Why? Looking to back out?" he scoffed.

"Actually, I was asking for _you_," she replied with a smirk. He gave her a nudge with his arm, annoyed at her assumption even if she had been joking, though couldn't help but smile back.

Kagome watched them joke around, envious of their calmness in the situation. They were fighters, this was just an everyday event for them, attacking and defending themselves with weapons constantly. They had the comfort of the knowledge that they could take care of themselves no matter what was coming at them. Kagome, herself, was much more distressed. She suddenly felt naked without something in her hands, a weapon of some sort.

She took an unintentional step back, her arms hugging herself. She wanted a weapon to hold onto, something that could protect her, keep her safe. It was so loud she couldn't hear herself think. Her mouth felt parched and her heart was pounding. The noise was getting louder… and closer… and she had nothing to aid her… and, oh Goddess, it was here…

Something burst through the trees and weapons were raised…

…only to be stopped midair.

The noise had abruptly stopped, leaving them in a loud silence as the man froze in front of them. They looked on in surprised, but were no where near as flabbergasted as he was. He shook his head, however, snapping out of his daze and ran toward the nearest person.

"Sorry, Sango, need to borrow this," he said, taking her sword from her. She was too surprised to give up much of a fight, letting him take the weapon from her. Then he abruptly began running again, away from the group while they watched him go. Just suddenly as he had started running, he stopped and turned around. "Get down!" he yelled to them.

No one moved. By the time Kagome was able to actually process his words, she had already become too stunned to move. Without warning, a large shadow had appeared above the group, covering them all. Kagome glanced up to see a huge object—no, not an object, a _monster_—flying above them.

Someone pulled her down to the ground with their arms around her, but she didn't even take the time to glance at whoever it was, her eyes on the huge monster overhead. The shadow was gone as it descended from it leap, landing gracefully on the forest ground with so much force that those that hadn't listened to the man's warning had their feet fly out from under them and fell hard to the ground.

A low growl from deep within the monster's chest was heard as it stalked toward the man, causing the trees to tremble around them. The man had managed to stay on his feet by jumping just as the monster landed, a trick he had learned after being thrown to the ground too many times before.

Sango saw it was about to attack, its fangs dripping with salvia in anticipation of its meal. One sword wouldn't do any good against the giant monster, what with its thick, brown fur. She quickly triggered the knives in her wrist sheaths, the blades slipping into her waiting hands. Letting her shock at such a monster even existing slip away, she ran forward and began attacking one of the monster's six legs. All other thoughts were banished as she switched to her fighter's mode.

She had to use a great deal of force to even penetrate what lay under such a thick coat, but she managed to grab his attention (and she knew it was a he because of certain… _male_ parts it had) with the pain she caused. He roared and turned Sango's way, giving the man a perfect opportunity to slash at one of his four eyes. Blood gushed out and the monster went up on its hind legs with an even bigger roar, startling what little creatures were left around out of their habitat.

His tail whipped around and with a sudden jerk began heading toward Kagome and Botan. The arms that were still around Kagome left and Yusuke was suddenly in front of them, kicking the tail away with an audible snap. The other four legs flailed about in the air until a snap was heard and Kurama's whip wrapped around one of the moving limbs. With a jerk he pulled with all the strength he had and the monster began to fall.

Kagome threw her arms around a nearby trunk, steadying herself for the trembling she knew was to come. Those that were standing followed the man's example and jumped, though Miroku's timing was off a bit, making him stumble, but he kept to his feet using his staff to support him. He then took his staff in both hands and with a small twist at both ends, two blades suddenly appeared out of either side. With an expert twist of it in his hands, he went to attack one of the monster's many limbs.

Hiei with little effort and speed that went unmatched, jumped onto the monster's back and from there onto its head. He tried to go on its back legs again, but Kurama kept him down as best he could with his whip, his arms trembling with the strain. With one quick movement, the assassin brought his sword down with force into the monster's skull, passing through the bone and into what lay beneath. The demon shuttered and convulsed for a few moments before he fell limp on the ground.

The ground silently drifted together for a lack of anything else to do. No one knew exactly what to say, most of them still half-dazed by the presence of such a monster. Shizuru, however, did not join the group, instead going over to the strange man, who was sitting on the ground, still breathing hard after his ordeal. He glance up at the girl hovering above him and said with a sheepish expression, "hey, Shizuru," to which she smacked him in the back of the head, any angry look on her face. "Ow!"

"Are you an idiot?" she snapped. "I thought you were dead." To others her words might have seemed overly harsh, but to those that knew her, they could hear the concern in her words. The man's face turned guilty as he rubbed the sore spot on his head.

Shizuru glared and crossed her arms while Sango walked over. She offered him a hand up that he accepted. "You had us worried," she informed him quietly before turning back to the group. "This is Kuwabara, Shizuru's brother and my cousin." The three of them moved to join the others while Sango continued on to introduce Kuwabara to the others in their party, for lack of anything better to do. "…she's a healer. And that's Hiei. He's basically here to fight and insult us by calling us all idiots," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, though she had to try hard not to smile.

Kuwabara bent down to put them on eye level. "What's the matter, shrimp? Not a people person?"

If he'd been a dog, she could have sworn Hiei would have barred him teeth and growled at her cousin. As it was, he just glared coldly at him. If looks could kill…

"…and now you've made his list of people he doesn't like. Which includes everyone here minus Kurama." At his puzzled look, Sango reminded him, "the redhead." Kuwabara glanced at the person in question, but the thief only stared back blankly, his face not betraying any of his thought.

Yusuke interrupted the conversation, annoyed with the whole lot of them. Why was no one asking the questions that matter? "While this is all great, what I wanna know is what the hell is _that_?" He gestured wildly at the carcass of the monster they had fought.

"It's a demon," Hiei answered before Kuwabara could open his mouth, causing him to glare at the short man. _He_ had been about to say that, but he'd gotten there first.

"Demon, a _real_ demon?" Botan questioned. "Did we know they existed?" Sure, she'd heard some of the people she'd healed ramble on about them, but she always had thought the ones that were sick were delusional and the others were making up stories. But now they were _real_?

"I don't know about you, but I sure as hell didn't," Yusuke stated.

"I knew," Kuwabara said, puffing his chest out with self-importance.

Yusuke gave him a jab in the ribs, deflating his air of notability. "Ah, you don't count, you've been here longer." Kuwabara was about to argue with the punk, but abruptly stopped when Kagome spoke.

"I knew," she told them, while most of them stared at her in surprise, to which she shrugged with a half-smile. What could she say? After so much time spent at Inuyasha's palace, there had been numerous attempts on his life and hers. People sent demonic _things_ to kill the heir in hopes of taking the throne for themselves after he was dead. It was one of the things that helped her make the decision to go on this quest. If demons were real, then maybe, just maybe…

She sighed at the mere thought. At this point, all she could do was hope and keep the determination on her face, even in the face of demons. She'd seen enough of them to know that she wasn't hallucinating and that they were genuine. Then again, there had also been her rescuer that one night…

Kurama watched Kagome as the others did, his face as unreadable as ever. Their attention turned to him when he said, "as did I. And Hiei, for that matter."

Shizuru and Botan had sat down sometime during the conversation, knowing it would be a long one. What was the point in wasting energy standing when they could be sitting? Sango sat heavily down next to the healer, letting her weapons lay on the ground in front of her. Kagome soon followed Sango's lead, letting a soft, satisfied sound escape her as she let her body relax. Sango glanced at her with an amused half-smile.

Yusuke put both his hands behind his head and seemed about to say something, then abruptly turned and walked away. He walked back just as suddenly, saying, "but _demons?_ That's stuff of myths and legends—"

"Just like this city we're heading to," Miroku reminded his old friend, though he spared a small glance at Kagome so quickly that no one else noticed besides her. He eased himself onto the ground next to Kagome as she locked her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder after giving him a gratifying smile. He understood the importance of what they were doing and he would supply her with the hope she needed to continue on. At least she knew he would always be on her side. Kagome glanced over at the person to her right and thought, _and Sango, too, for that matter._

Someone muttered, "creatures of nightmares," under their breath, but she didn't know who it was, the words being said so softly.

"So we've got a bunch of demons between us and the city," Yusuke said, shaking his head at just the thought. "No wonder no one's come out of here alive." His voice was dry as he said it, but it was obvious, at least to Kagome, that he was ready for the challenge.

Kuwabara had remained mostly quiet during all the talking, mostly because he kept getting cut off, but because he was watching the group and their interactions as well. "Wait, wait, wait, hold up a second," Kuwabara said suddenly. "You're going to the _Lost City_?" He shook his head in disbelief. "There's no point. I've been here for months and I've never found it."

"That's probably because you've been walking in circles, being this close to the edge," Shizuru informed him. She still seemed angry with her brother, but it was anger mixed in with concern.

"That's because I was trying to find my way out," he protested.

"If you're looking for a way out…" Botan paused for a moment, thinking. She had gotten turned around while they were fighting. Which was the way they came from again? "It's that way," she finished, pointing to where she thought she had come. Kurama reached out and redirected her hand. She grinned, only the slightest bit abashed.

Kagome glanced up at the tall stranger, tilting her head as she looked him over. "You could come with us, if you'd like," she told him. "I'd be safer in a group."

Yusuke sneered, turning toward Kuwabara. "Yeah, Mister Brave Man, want to come along? If we need anyone to _run away_ from the demons, we'll use you."

"Hey, I was looking for a weapon! Which I found," he countered, insulted. "_You_try fighting a demon that big without a weapon and then we'll talk." He looked down at the blood stained sword and made a move to return it to his cousin. "Sorry about that."

She declined the offered sword, pushing it back toward him. "Keep it, you need it more than I do. Besides, I have these for the time being." Sango reached down to pick up the two knives, relatively clean after she had wiped away the blood on the demon's fur. She replaced them back in their sheaths, ready to be called back out when she needed them.

He looked thankful and she hadn't been lying when she said he needed it more than she did. From the looks of it, he had had a hard time in the past few months, understandably. His clothes were torn in places and his once white shirt was a dull white where there wasn't dirt. What was surprising was the fact that he had survived so long _alone_ and without a weapon (though he did mention later on that he had started out with one). It was a mystery most of them would ponder for the rest of their lives.

"So you won't come?" Kagome asked him.

"I'd leave him behind," Hiei interrupted before he could speak. "We have no need for someone of his simplemindedness. He'd only be a burden." He glanced at the noble. "We have enough of that already."

The comment stung, deeply at that and worse, a part of her was wondering if he was right. Still, she stood up abruptly, her eyes blazing. She was about to say something along the lines of, "what do you have against me?" but Sango stopped her with a hand to her arm, keeping her from storming up to Hiei.

Sango, herself, glared at him, making Hiei turn his attention from the noble to her. Again he had made an assessment of a person's character without knowing them long, first with Kagome than Kuwabara. He saw things how he wanted to and how they fit him.

Their eyes held for a long time, indifference in his eyes, anger in hers. The only reason they tore their gaze away was because of Shizuru's words.

"Let's go," she said.

The group hesitantly began to depart, leaving a pondering Kuwabara behind. He seemed to be deep in thought since Kagome had asked her question, oblivious to the insult Hiei had given. He didn't even notice them leave.

Kagome took a few deep breaths, letting the tense out of her body as she let the air out. When she felt calm once more, though his words still hurt, Kagome gently took Sango's arm, making the fighter look at her curiously.

She glanced back at Kuwabara. "I don't feel right about leaving him here," she confided in a soft voice. "How could she say that?" Kagome asked, referring to Shizuru.

Sango shook her head, but the tension was still in her body. "She knows what she's doing. Shizuru knows her brother well enough to know that, given the situation, he'll…"

From behind them, there was a sudden cry of, "hey, wait for me!" which hurried footsteps followed.

"…join us."

* * *

A/N: This definitely wasn't as good as the first version. Oh man, the hardest part was remembering all the dialogue I had written, but I got most of it down and some new parts too. Hope you liked it anyway. 

Smiles everyone!


	7. Chapter Seven

I actually updated somewhat quickly! (And it's a long chapter too). …this means that somewhere it's raining cats and dogs and hell has frozen over, doesn't it?

Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Seven**

**

* * *

**

Yusuke staggered backward, his back slamming into a tree. A grunt escaped him before he said through gritted teeth, "oh, you're so fucking dead." He pushed off the trunk and sprang forward, throwing a punch that knocked the demon to the ground with an audible snap of its neck. It wouldn't be getting back up, that's for sure.

His eyes did a quick survey of the surrounding, but before he could even do a full check another demon had thrown itself onto his back. With a jab to the ribs, the demon let go of him though two more came to make Yusuke's job more difficult.

The supply of the humanoid demons seemed endless. They just kept coming at the group and no matter how many of them they killed, more seemed to come. They were lucky, however, because they weren't that hard to kill, their long claw-like nails being their only real weapon against the group. Still, they were becoming real nuisances.

The fighters among them had an easier time, but even those who didn't have real weapons did what they could. Botan and Shizuru had found large branches to beat back the demons, though Shizuru had to hunt for a second one after she used too much force, causing the first one to break across of the demon's back. Kagome was having a better time using rather large rocks to throw instead. Her aim was surprisingly good; Miroku had even said so when she'd used one to distract the demon trying to gnaw at his arm.

"For a girl," Kuwabara had added. He quickly took back his words when she'd knocked a demon just about to attack him unconscious with a hard blow to the head.

When no more appeared from the forest's depths, the demons' numbers finally seemed to dwindle, though there were still numerous around that needed to be dealt with. Noticed that Botan and Shizuru had more around them than they could handle, Kagome picked up one of the rocks from her pile, taking aim. She launched it through the air to try and hit the demon in an attempt distract it. The distraction worked only too well. It hit the demon's shoulder and spun him around, giving him a perfect view of his attacker. Snarling, it stalked forward.

Kagome hastily reached for another stone, throwing it as she backed away, trying to keep the distance between them. The demon easily swatted the rock away with its arm as though it were a mere pebble, having seen it coming. She glanced around looking for help from anything or anyone, but no one noticed her peril, being rather perilous themselves.

Seeing another rock she grabbed for it, but when she threw it, aiming deliberately for its head, it was knocked down just like the last one. She turned and hurried backward, letting out a yelp as something snapped out and caught her arm.

It roughly spun her around again, grabbing her other arm just under her shoulder. She struggled though abruptly stopped with a gasp as it imbedded its nail deeper into her the more she squirmed. She felt her back slam hard against a tree trunk, her head snapping back and leaving her stunned. She was brought back to herself with a cry as blood began seeping down her arms. The demon smiled at the sound, revealing a mouth full of fangs, saliva dripping off them.

It opened its mouth wider and bent its head down to her shoulder where she felt a sharp pain. More pain followed when she struggled again, but she couldn't stay still and just let it happened. She did the last thing she could think of.

Kagome rammed her head against the demon's, making it rear back with a loud hiss. Color exploded in her vision and pain overrode her, her head feeling dizzy and her body going momentarily limp, the demon's grip the only thing keeping her up. Her shoulder was on fire as fangs bit into flesh and her mind was too fuzzed to even fight against it. She could fell her shoulder vibrate from the sound as it growled and bit down harder than before, angered by her attempt to harm it.

The dark spots were just clearing from her vision as something suddenly coil around the demon's arm with a audible snap. She only had a moment to register what the object was before the whip was harshly pulled back. With a bloodcurdling cry from the demon, its voice thick with her blood in its mouth, the arm was torn away, deepening the wound in her arm as it was ripped from her. Then all the pressure from the demon was gone and she slumped against the trunk.

She didn't want to look, but for some reason she glanced at the demon in front of her anyway. Its arm was nearly completely taken off, only help together by some skin and muscle. Its other arm that had held her was desperately trying to hold it together as though it would magically make it whole again and it was shrieking its head off, the sound striking Kagome's very core.

As it screamed in agony, the whip was back, wrapped around its neck. Having seen enough, Kagome quickly turned her head to the side, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. She heard an audible crack, followed by a dull thud.

Then there was stillness.

She flinched away when she felt something touch her arm, but the grip held. She opened her eyes slowly to see Kurama in front of her, his hand lightly taking her forearm.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice soft. Or maybe it just seemed soft since all was abruptly silent around them. The fighting was apparently over.

Instead of answering, she nodded slowly and immediately regretted the decisions as jolts of pain ran through her. One hand went to her head, hoping that it would help suppress her massive headache, while Kurama guided her around the demon's body, his hand still holding her arm.

She was grateful for the guidance since she wasn't sure her legs would hold her on her own just yet, though as Kurama helped her she was very careful she didn't look down at the body.

No, she didn't want to do that.

* * *

Kagome sat in the middle of camp with her usual night companion, everyone else asleep around them—or they seemed to be. Only two things were different about this night, for one, now they had someone keeping watch at all times (Kurama volunteering to do it first that night) and the absence of their usual fire in the middle of their camp. 

After their first encounter with demons two days previous, they had decided having a fire was too risky in that it might attract much unwanted attention, which left Kagome and Kurama in almost entire darkness, sitting not quite side by side, by close enough. Without the fire it was warmer when they were closer together so their closeness was for the body heat, Kagome had assured herself. Right, that was the reason.

The noble smiled softly to herself, remembering the events of the day. Though it had started out unpleasant, getting attacked and whatnot, the day had had its up points. They had stopped for a good amount of time as Botan healed her wounds and she felt more refreshed after the healing than she had before, though her skin was tender and pink where she had been hurt, not to mention her sleeves were a bit torn up.

What really made her smile, however, was the concern she saw in the other's eyes. Botan had scolded her for getting caught, but she'd seen how worried she was, as well as Miroku and Sango. They'd been attacked again, and although it wasn't as bad as before, they kept a closer eye on her, making sure she didn't get hurt. Everyone had showed their concern in their own way. Minus a certain short, spiky-haired person, of course.

Hiei had glared at her disapproving when the others hovered around her, though Sango caught the glance. She'd kept on him all day after that and although Kagome could never hear what they said, she knew they were bickering. After a few minutes of discussion one would always walk away with satisfaction—the winner of the fight no doubt—while the other looked disgruntled. Kagome noticed with some amusement that Sango had a smile of her face more times than she saw Hiei looking smug as the fighter-for-hire stomped away. Though every time she did, she came back not too long after, making a new point in whatever argument they were having.

"I'm surprised he hasn't killed her yet," Miroku had murmured to Kagome, only partially joking. Hiei had been—or rather, was—"Black Death" the infamous assassin, after all.

Kagome, however, stuck with her original assessment. Hiei had to like her in a friendly way or at least respected her fighting skills, enough so that he could tolerate her presence. If he _didn't_ like her, then she might really have been killed as Miroku had said, what with how much she annoyed him.

Kagome came out of her thoughts when she heard someone speaking. She sheepishly looked up and at her companion, Kurama. "I'm sorry, what did you say? I was kind of lost in thought there."

"I was wondering if you had a weapon…?" he asked her.

"No, I don't," she replied regretfully, looking away from him as she replied. Not that she really knew how to use many weapons, having been brought up a "proper" lady—or at least, attempted to since her father would whisk her away and she usually come back half covered in mud, having gone riding (without riding sidesaddle, which the other ladies gaped about) or watched some of the soldiers train.

Still, weapons weren't really her forte. Her father had been trying to teach her how to use a bow—he had said she had a real gift for it, even at a young age—but before he really had a chance… he'd died.

She took herself out of her thoughts and put her focus back on Kurama. He reached behind him to where his cloak lay on the ground. He never wore it at night, though she was never sure why. At first she thought it was because he didn't want to wear it by the fire lest it go up in flames, but even now he kept it by his side. She had given hers to whoever wanted it for the night since she had no need of a cloak and a blanket, Yusuke being its current user.

Kurama's hand came back with a sheathed dagger, taking it from the folds of his cloak. And what a dagger it was. It was exquisite with gems covering its hilt, one particular large one in its center that was an emerald green that almost matched his eyes. There was only one thing that differed. As childish as it sounded, his eyes were more breathtaking, holding such depth that the jewel could never hope to achieve.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, and she meant it. It was remarkable, a priceless treasure, and she knew priceless treasures when she saw them. She'd seen numerous amounts of jewels being as highborn as she was, not to mention seeing all the people that came in and out of the palace. Not much compared to the dagger's beauty. "Where did you get it?"

He glanced up at her for a second. "Do you really want to know?"

Would she be asking if she didn't? Not wanting to seem rude, she instead. replied, "Yes." Maybe he had stolen it? She realized she didn't know what he had done before he joined them… but she did remember the company he had kept. Had he been a thief?

"My father gave it to me when I was five… just before he left on a journey." His voice… it held emotion, deep emotion. For the life of her she couldn't figure out exactly _what_. She'd have given anything to see his eyes at that moment, but it was too dark for her to be able to read anything in them. Though she doubted she would have been able to anyway. It was impossible to read anything from him unless he wanted someone to see.

"He never came back," he continued. Kurama took the dagger out so that just an inch of blade was showing, looking at his dark reflection in the metal. Kagome felted a sudden surge of sympathy for him. Hadn't she gone through the same thing? Perhaps her father hadn't disappeared like his has… but where he went, she knew he wouldn't be coming back.

"And this…" He snapped the blade shut, the hilt slamming down to meet the sheath. Kagome jumped at the sound. "This was all I had left of him." He presented her with the blade. "I want you to take it. Use it to defend yourself."

_What?_ Even with the darkness, the shock must have been visible on her face. "I—I couldn't! It must be so precious to you…" she began. She moved her hands far away from the blade, not even daring to touch the invaluable item. It was priceless in more ways than one.

"Take it. We all may have our own reason for coming along, but we are mainly here to protect you," he reminded her. When she still didn't take the dagger from him, he gently dropped it into her lap. "It would be more effective if you knew how to use it, but it could be useful in a critical situation."

Kagome smiled at him genuinely. It was all she could do to show her gratitude besides saying a heartfelt, "thank you." With those words lingering in the air between them, she went off to sleep, having no more to say. Kurama watched her as she went and noticed with amusement how she held the dagger close to her as she slept, her hand fisted around the hilt as she held it close to her chest.

He shook his head with a smile before standing up himself, deciding it was time for him to sleep as well. He walked over to Hiei and stopped in front of the assassin, intending to wake him for the next watch. Before he could even part his lips or move to wake him, Hiei spoke.

"You're a fool, fox." He said the words plainly, without even opening his eyes.

Kurama ignored the words as if they had never been spoken. "It's your watch," he told his friend before moving away.

His mind, however, repeated Hiei's words to him over and over again as he attempted to sleep. He looked for a possible threat in the words but they were plain and simple. But Hiei didn't have to tell him.

He already knew.

**

* * *

**

Crackling was heard above them, causing Sango and a few others to glance upward. It was followed by a low booming sound, rolling in from the distance. A storm was heading their way, no doubt. It might already be there for all the trees let them see, pieces of grayish sky.

"Well that doesn't sound good," Sango stated, glancing upward as she walked.

Yusuke sent her a withering look. "Why thank you, Miss Obvious," he said dryly.

She gave him a salute. "Just doing my job, Captain Sarcasm," she responded, matching his sardonic tone. She heard a soft, condescending sound from her left and looked to the person behind her. "You have a problem with our joking?" she asked Hiei.

"Only with your maturity levels… which seem nonexistent," he commented.

Instead of responding, she just rolled her eyes and kept moving. Botan moved closer to Kurama and said softly to him, "your friend should learn to lighten up."

"Probably," he agreed. "But he means well…" From the look the healer gave him, he continued, "…some of the time."

She laughed shortly, though there was no happiness to it. The idea of him 'meaning well' just amused her. If anything, the assassin was just an intimating presence in their midst. Though she had to admit he was good to have around during a fight, but she didn't know how Kurama or Sango dealt with him otherwise. She'd do her best to just stay out of his way.

The thunder continued to sound, accompanied by flashes of lightning as both got closer, until one time it sounded and suddenly brought with it a shower of raindrops. No, not shower. It was pouring. Yes, pouring was a much better word for it. The tree branches and leaves weren't much help against it, they easily dropped from them onto the travelers below, soaking them in a matter of minutes. The wind picked up as well, freezing them with its cold air.

"…is ridiculous," Shizuru said over the loud rain, her first words being drowned out by thunder. "We have to find some shelter." She stopped walking and the others followed her example.

"But where?" her brother yelled. "There's nothing by trees!" He gestured wildly around at them.

"We could keep going, maybe we'll find something lat—" Botan abruptly cut off and shrieked as lightning struck a nearby tree. Flames erupted and blazing branches fell to the ground, but quickly died out as the pouring rain continued. "…or we could look _now_."

Sango noticed from the corner of her eye that Kurama and Hiei were turned toward each other, each looking at the other, though neither were talking. For no reason Hiei abruptly shook his head the slightest bit, confusing Sango. She felt uneasy all of the sudden and turned fully toward them. Kurama noticed her first, then Hiei, who had had his back to her, turned to glare at her, a glare that nearly made her shiver. She held his gaze for a few moments before looking away, though wondering what the hell had just happened. _Nothing_ had happened… yet she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise.

Kuwabara and Yusuke volunteered to go out and search for an area to take shelter. Botan followed, too, wanting to get to safety as soon as humanly possible. The rest stayed where they were, talking little as they tried to get as warm as they could. The ground was too muddy to sit on so they stood and they waited.

And waited… until a good amount of time later, Kuwabara finally came back, alone. He told them that there was cave to the west of where they were, Botan and Yusuke waiting there. He asked if it would work and the others exchanged a few glances and a shrug or two before Sango said, "alright, lead the way."

It was a ten-minute walk, but it was worth it once they were inside the dry cave. It wasn't particularly wide, though it was deep, going so far back they saw no end to it. The group stayed as close to the exit as possible without getting hit by the rain the wind brought into the first few feet of it. The stone they sat on was cool to touch, which was part of the reason why Botan and Yusuke had already brought together what was needed for a fire, but had yet to light it.

"The wood's too damp to light," Botan explained as Yusuke continued to try create a spark. He scratched two stones together furiously, to no prevail until he finally tossed both to the ground. "Screw this, I don't have the patience," he announced, then glanced at the girl to his left. "Why don't you make with the magic?"

Botan turned toward the wood, her eyes trained hard on it. Outstretching one hand, she exclaimed, "ignis!" A small spark suddenly appeared between her fingers, but was gone almost as soon as it appeared. She sighed as her shoulders slumped. "I was never good with fire. I'm really only able to heal and use water, that's it. And only water because it's simply taking water from the atmosphere around me at the time."

Kagome set her heavy bag down on the floor and began digging through it, while Botan chided her about bringing so much stuff she didn't really needed. With a happy exclaim she found the good piece of flint she had brought, handing it to Kuwabara. He tried what Yusuke had, but the wood was too wet from the rain to burn for more than a few seconds before going out. When he gave up, Sango gave it a few tries, only to the same result.

"Hate to bum everyone out, but we're going to either freeze to death in these wet clothing or get really sick," Shizuru commented, watching their failure. "Neither of which sounds very appealing."

Sango let the flint drop to the ground before standing up. "I've done all I can do." She hated the fact that she failed, but the fire would just not light.

Hiei reached down and took the two small rocks Yusuke had discarded in his hands, giving them one smart scratch together. Sparks appeared and ignited in a few pieces of woods as they had before, only this time they didn't go out. In only a few minutes the fire was burning strongly, Miroku and Kurama helping to keep the fire going by putting in more kindle.

Hiei glanced back at the fighter an air of superiority clearly around him. "Now that's just unfair," she said aloud since it was the expected response from her. Meanwhile inside her suspicions grew. How come he so easily lit that fire? Was there something significant there? Or just rotten luck on her part?

Those that wore cloaks shed them, leaving them to lay out by the fire to dry them. Any other articles of clothing that were wet and could be spared were thrown by the fire, such as Yusuke's shirt as well as Kuwabara's and Miroku's. Since they were in mixed company the girls remained fully clothed, much to Miroku's displeasure that he had no problem announcing aloud.

Kagome was only somewhat soaked, her cloak having kept most of the rain from reaching the clothing under, unlike the others, but that probably because her cloak was more expensive and probably better made. The contents of her bag were also thankfully dry and she offered the blanket to Sango, who was entirely drenched through. She gratefully accepted, but before she could put it around her, Miroku came over and stole half of it.

"Hey!" was all she could exclaimed, before he glanced at her and said, "you are not the only one frozen." He draped one side over his shoulder so it covered most of him, while she did the same with her side, though by her pink face it was obvious she wasn't comfortable with the entire situation. "You try any funny business and I'll kick you out of this cave and you can sleep outside in the rain," Sango muttered mostly to herself, though those around her heard.

Kuwabara glared at Miroku from across the cave (and interestingly enough he wasn't the only one glaring), not liking how close he was to his cousin. Their shoulders were practically brushing—no, they were brushing! If the blanket had been bigger, he'd have put himself between them to keep him away, but it was hardly big enough for the two of them. He would have said something to Miroku (or done something if anyone had informed him about his sometimes lecherous acts), but noticed an open spot next to the pretty blue-haired healer. All other thoughts melted away as he went to sit next to her.

Shizuru could have rolled her eyes at her brother's antics, always after some pretty girl or another, but didn't even take the effort to. This was a perfect opportunity for them to relax for once, who knew when they'd get another break from walking? Maybe the storm would last long enough and the demons would stay away… Oh, one can only dream…

The sound of the pouring rain echoed around the cave, the thunder filling it entirely making it hard to even think when it boomed, getting closer. Sango glanced outside before saying, "…we could be stuck here for awhile." She then glanced at the group, scattered around the cave. Hiei was the furthest away, staying close to it's entrance. "So… why don't we do something with this time?"

"What did you have in mind?" Kurama asked her, turning his emerald eyes toward her.

Those eyes unnerved the fighter at times. There was so much intelligence there, yet he was so closed, his thoughts unknown to everyone unless he wished to reveal them. He was so closed and she just knew there were secrets that he was keeping hidden. That's what unnerved her about his eyes. Those secrets were just lurking beneath the surface. Who knew when they would reveal themselves?

Kurama and Hiei… they made quite a conniving pair. It only reminded Sango of the display she'd seen before when they'd just been _looking_ at each other… and yet she felt something more was going on. She didn't like it, not one bit. However, Sango suppressed all those feelings, at least for now as she responded, "to… I guess, talk a bit. Say who we are and why we're here. It'll pass the time." She glanced at Kagome. "Starting with you."

Kagome gulped inwardly, her wet clothes suddenly feeling much heavier on her, the cool metal of her necklace feeling even colder. Despite it all, she shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant way. "Well, I've said before that my father was a scholar and my mother raised us." Was it bad that lying became easier the more she did it?

"Us?" Shizuru asked.

"Me and my brother. He's younger than me, should be about, hmm… well, I'm seventeen and there's a seven-year difference so he's ten now. He could be a real brat sometimes, but we did have some good times together," Kagome explained. A soft smile lit her face, though it was a sad one. It had been over a year since she'd last seen her little brother. On the bright side, at least that part was true. That's all she needed to do, stick to the truth unless it was necessary to lie.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Botan commented.

"He never came with us… I mean, me when I first came to the pa—city. …I moved there from Kortale over a year ago," the noble quickly explained. Ah, crap. That was too close. Botan sent her an apologetic look for putting her in such a position, while Miroku shook his head slightly.

"And why do you want to go to the Lost City?" Sango asked her curiously.

"To save my friend. I need the cure the city has to keep him alive," she explained simply. This was new information to some of them since she didn't fully explain to all of them. It had been a long and confusing night, she hardly remember who she told what.

"Alright, Miroku. Your turn," Botan said.

"Me? Why me?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Because you're sitting next to Kagome so you should go next, we'll go in order. Besides, I said so," the healer teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Then I must succumb to the beautiful woman's will," he said in a grave tone, making Botan giggle. He went on, "I'm a peasant." _Lie,_ Kagome said to herself, though his lying was much more smooth than hers could ever be. "And an orphan." _True_. He was cousin to Inuyasha, and the two of them were the only living people left in their entire extended family. The rest had been murdered at an attempt to take the crown. "That's all there is to who I am. The reason I'm here… the person Kagome is trying to save is my cousin. Besides the personal side of wanting to save him, I also wish not to take over the family business. As long as he's around, I won't have to."

Botan's eyes widened. "Your cousin…?" she began, but Kagome nudged her with her foot before she could continue. No one had known that anyone in Inuyasha's family was still alive, not even Inuyasha himself. Kagome had been the first he had told in a long, long time.

"I never knew you had any family," Yusuke informed his old friend. By his tone, it was obvious he was offended, though not very. "Must be a horrible business if you're willing to risk your life out here to avoid it."

"The most horrid you could imagine," he replied. His face was solemn as he just for a moment glanced at the future queen sitting beside him. She didn't see the look, however, as she stared deeply into the flames, though she nodded in agreement.

To live as the monarchy was to not live at all. All day was spent either with the council, making decisions, or listening to the problems of the people. Nights were spent entertaining nobles that came to the palace and they always had something to complain about, and complain loudly they did. Hardly any free time was given to the ruler, always jumping from one issue to the next. Or at least, that was how Kagome saw it all.

There was silence until lightning flashed followed by thunder nearby, causing some of them to jump. "I guess that means it's my turn," Sango said. She took a breath before starting. "I lost my family when I was still young, so I came to live with Shizuru, Kuwabara, and their mother in the city, though my aunt died too. So it was just the three of us… and then the two of us when Kuwabara left as I worked as a fighter-for-hire to earn some money. …And I guess I'm here partly for the adventure and partly because… well, what else is there to do? Things get boring in that city, having the same routine every day."

Sango glanced over to Yusuke beside her, signaling his turn. He shrugged. "For the same reason, I guess. I wanted the adventure, plus the treasure at the Lost City is a sweet deal too. Oh, and I'm a pickpocket. I steal what I need to get by."

The group glanced over to Shizuru. She ran a hand through her hair before inclining her head toward the person next to her, Kuwabara. "I came to find out if he was still alive." It was all she said.

"And I came to find glory and riches—" her brother said.

"You did a wonderful job," Yusuke told him wryly.

"—so we wouldn't have to worry anymore about paying taxes and still having enough money to live. …It didn't work out as planned," he admitted sheepishly.

"That was still very noble of you," Botan said with a smile, which he returned. The whole thing made Shizuru say, "sure, encourage him, why don't you."

Left at Botan's turn, she told the rest, "I'm just a healer and I know Kagome's… friend, and I want to help her, that's why I'm helping you guys."

Everyone had spoken, minus their two most closemouthed companions, Kurama and Hiei. Kurama sat closest to Botan, putting the rest of their attention on him. If he'd been about to say something the rest would never know it because Hiei suddenly interrupted, "don't tell them anything, fox. You have no need to explain yourself to them."

Whether he was heeding Hiei's words or not, Kurama's words were still ambiguous. "I'm here because I chose to be, I have no real reason."

"Everyone has a reason," was Kagome's quiet response, but it was lost to most as Sango said at the same time to Hiei, "why do you call him 'fox'?" She inclined her head toward Kurama, whose unfathomable gaze was on Kagome, having heard her soft words.

"Because of his intelligence and cunning. Far greater than most people," Hiei responded, though wondering why he was even answering her.

"'Far greater than most people'," she repeated, then said dryly, "so he's an animal?" The comment earned her a glare, though she'd been expecting it. Her voice lost its dry, teasing quality when she asked, "so you're not going to tell us even the slightest bit about why you're here?"

"That's my own business," he told her, turning his attention away, instead focusing on the storm outside. It hadn't relented at all. If anything, it had gotten worse.

They waited out the rest of the day, which soon turned into night, the storm only lessening a small amount. A few of them continued to chat as others dozed in and out. Sango wondered why there were no demons around, but someone else mentioned they must have liked the storm about as much as they did, probably taking cover. Though it seemed unlikely to her, she supposed it did make some sort of sense.

Sango didn't even remember dozing off, only realizing she had when she woke with a start as lightening struck nearby. She was lying down with her back pressed against that of a sleeping Miroku, the blanket spread over both of them. Surprisingly, he hadn't tried anything perverted while they shared the cover. He must have heeded her warning about throwing him out into the storm… or might have tried something while she slept. She _really_ hoped it was the former.

A sleeping Yusuke was uncomfortably close on her other side, though there was some space between them. A glance around proved that the rest were asleep as well, though when she glanced at the mouth of the cave, she noticed two crimson eyes looking her way.

She stood silently and with grace that went with years of fighting, while Miroku shivered at the loss of warmth. Carefully avoiding the bodies on the ground, she made her way over Hiei, taking a seat across from him. He watched her expectantly, waiting for whatever comment she wanted to make, knowing that he wouldn't like it.

She kept her voice low and chose her words carefully as she told him, "you may think the reason you're here is your business, but it's our business too if it interferes with what we are trying to do."

Was he amused at her words? Angry? Annoyed? His face betrayed nothing, as per usual. "You don't trust me." He said it so plainly, obviously not caring if she did or didn't.

The wind brought rain in, throwing some at Sango and making her skin hum with the coolness of it. She ignored it and the urge to shiver, though she rather wished she still had the blanket around her. Oh, well.

"You've given me no reason to. The more you keep secrets, the less I do," Sango informed him flatly as she wrapped her arms around herself.. "Your trust scale is at around negative five, right now."

His knees were drawn up, his arms lazily hanging over them. How could someone so small and casual, be so deadly? "I neither asked for nor wanted your trust."

She stood abruptly, wondering why she even bothered to try and converse with him. "Well, then this all worked out perfectly, didn't it?" Turning her back on him, she went back to where she had slept before. Only when she reached it did she turn back. "You're a good fighter and I can't say it's not interesting having you around…" How could she put it? "…you hurt her… any of them and you'll regret it."

He scoffed. It was an empty threat to him. "You couldn't touch me, let alone harm me."

She considered his words. She had seen him while they fought the demons over the past few days, dispatching them ruthlessly and easily. If it came down to it, he clearly had the advantage. "I'd try," she replied and her words rang true.

Hiei turned his attention away from her as she got herself settled, though he knew she did not sleep for a long while. _I look forward to it_, he thought to himself, smirking merely at the idea.

* * *

Botan stretched her arms above her head before bouncing to her feet. "Good morning," she said cheerfully. She spared a glance outside before saying, "it looks like the rains letting up. And I haven't heard any thunder in awhile." She hopped over the sleeping forms of Sango and Kagome, joining those that were awake by the fire. 

"Good morning, Botan," Kurama replied. He was crouched by the fire, having put the dry cloaks aside, and was heating something over the flames. "Yes, we'll wait awhile longer and if all looks well, we'll head off."

"In the meantime, breakfast," Yusuke said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Whatca cooking? It smells good."

Kurama gave a squeeze to his somewhat damp hair, letting the droplets of water fall to the floor. From what Botan could gather from his wet appearance, he'd gone out to find something to eat. And whatever something that was, was now cooking over the fire.

He laughed. "I think you'd rather not know. But it's edible," he assured Yusuke when the pickpocket gave him a skeptical look. "Between the nine of us eating, we don't have much left in reserve. Fortunately, we have Botan, so we don't have to worry about the same thing happening with our water supply."

Botan flushed with pleasure at the small smile he sent her. It was always nice to be appreciated. Then, noticing something odd, she gestured toward Hiei. "So he does sleep. Nice to know," she said, half to herself.

"Unfortunately, the same's true for him," Yusuke said, jerking him thumb at the snoring Kuwabara. "I swear, it was louder than the thunder."

The conversation abruptly ended, however, once Kurama announced that the mystery meat was done and those that were wake began greedily eating their delicious breakfast (although technically it was closer to lunchtime). Yusuke was tempted to ask what it was, but he decided he would rather enjoy the meal than be disgusted by whatever the meat was. Shizuru and Miroku joined them during the meal, though they too wisely kept their mouths shut and didn't ask. They were too hungry to take the chance.

"What's that?" Botan asked unexpectedly, pointing into the deep cave.

Miroku's gaze fell to where she was pointing and squinted his eyes to see. "It seems to be so sort of light—"

He didn't get to continue, however, as the light suddenly rushed toward them, bursting through the entire cave. They threw up their arms to shield themselves from it, but it was no use, the white light had already engulfed the group, blinding them.

Kurama realized only too late what was happening.

* * *

Kagome shifted in her sleep, her hand absentmindedly reaching for a blanket that wasn't there. She let out a soft noise of annoyance as she flipped onto her back, throwing an arm over her face. 

"What's going on?"

She knew that voice. It was Sango's.

"Don't open your eyes," commanded another roughly. Definitely Hiei's.

_What?_ she thought, her mind still blurred from sleep. Kagome didn't, however, open her eyes.

"Wha—" someone began, voicing Kagome's thoughts. The sound was abruptly cut off and they never finished, causing Hiei to mutter, "fool."

"Kuwabara?" Sango asked, recognizing the voice that hadn't finished the one word. No answer. "Kuwabara?" It was more urgent, but again, nothing. "What's going on? Why isn't he answering? And why can't I open my eyes?"

"What's going on?" Kagome echoed as she sat up. She kept her eyes tightly shut, though she was increasingly tempted to open them. But no, Hiei had said not to. He'd be the last one to joke around. Better to listen to him than not to.

He didn't answer and no one else spoke as well for a long moment, Sango and Kagome waiting in anticipation. Finally, what had to be minutes later (though it felt much longer), Hiei told them curtly, "the rest are paralyzed. There's some kind of light coming from deep in the cave, immobilizing any who see it."

Kagome used the wall to help her stand, turning her face to where she heard Hiei's voice coming from. "So what do we do?"

"Is there a way to reanimate them?" Sango inquired. No answer. They were asking Hiei, but he didn't have the solution. "If we stop the light at its source, will that work?" She took an unintentional step toward him, but her foot bumped into something. Sango reached a hesitant hand down to object, only to touch soft, silky strands of something. Someone's hair.

She instantly jumped back, jerking her hand away. The person, whoever it was, hadn't reacted at all, couldn't have. The stillness of him or her spooked her.

What had done this? Why had the light come now? They had to help the others… but how? If they found the source, whatever it was…

"We could try it," Kagome said.

"Alright, let's do it," Sango decided. She turned Hiei's way. "Hiei?"

"Hn," was all he said, though he was much closer to them than before. He must have moved closer while they talked.

_Let's see,_ Kagome thought, _the mouth of the cave was to the right of me when I was sleeping, so that would mean…_ She turned left, to what she hoped was going deeper into the cave. When she heard their footsteps following her, she figured she must have been correct.

She kept one hand outstretched to the wall, using it to guide her. It was almost like she was walking through darkness, besides the fact that some of the light shined even through her closed lids, like the sun normally did.

Sango tried to be careful in her steps, but she couldn't be sure where she was going and _what_ she was stepping on. It wasn't always solid and she didn't just meant the small pebbles that seemed to be scattered across cave. Sometimes the ground was gooey and thick or spongy, other times things snap underneath her boots, crunching like… bones.

"What do you think did this?" Sango asked aloud.

"What do you mean?" Kagome was the one who responded, though her voice was a little faint. She had started out in front of them, but now was a good deal behind. She picked up her pace.

"The light wasn't shining at all before. Something or someone must have—" she began explaining, but without warning cut off when she tripped over something in front of her. She reached out to grab something to steady her, her hand gripping some kind of material.

Hiei tensed as her hand grabbed his arm and immediately yanked his arm and the material of his cloak out of her grasps. "Watch what you're grabbing," he snapped.

If it had been anyone else, she would have apologized. She didn't even bother with him, especially if he was going to be so rude about it. _Well _sorry_ if I was falling,_ she thought bitterly.

Kagome continued to walk following the sound of their footsteps, though she paused when she realized she couldn't hear them anymore. "What…?" No one answered her. "Sango!" she yelled frantically. The fighter didn't call back.

She quickly retraced her steps, still calling out Sango's name. She finally stopped when she heard a faint reply of her own name, coming from far up ahead. Huh? If she had been ahead of her, why did she just answer her when she called before? It didn't make sense.

"Why'd you stop? I couldn't hear you anymore," the noble informed them, while Sango responded, "what are you talking about? You stopped following." Her voice was clearly puzzled.

"The path splits in two," Hiei stated impatiently, as though it were the obvious answer. Oh. Kagome had gone down one path, the wall guiding her there, while they, since they were by the other wall, had gone down the other. It did make sense.

But now they had a decision to make. Which path to go down? There was no way of telling from which way the light was coming since they couldn't open their eyes to see it. They could take a wild guess, but it would waste time if they were wrong and who knows what would happen to the others if they waited too long? Kagome, however, had thought of a solution (and one that Hiei seemed to agree with, though there was no surprise there), but Sango rejected it instantly.

"No," she told the noble firmly.

"I'd have at least a few seconds…"

"No."

"And that should give me enough time to at least point to—"

"No." Kagome had a real problem with understanding that word, but the girl was being too stubborn to do things any other way but hers.

"Just let the girl do what she wants," Hiei snapped.

She turned in his direction, wishing she could give him a cold glare. "Of course _you'd _agree with it, but_ I_ actually care what happens to her." She felt a hand on her arm, turning her attention toward Kagome.

Kagome gave her arm a squeeze. "I'll be fine. I don't need to be protected all the time and this is just a little thing. And I trust you enough to know that you'll undo whatever's happening." Then she dropped her arm from the fighter.

"Kagome…" she began, but got no response. She said her name once more, uncertainty in it. Reaching out a hand, it touched the girl beside her, but no reaction came from her. Kagome was stiff as a board.

Sango slid her hand along the arm until it reached Kagome's fingers. They were pointing to the left. "Left," she let Hiei know, her voice almost toneless. Then, with more feeling, she continued, "if anything happens…"

"You can't blame it on me," Hiei curtly interrupted. "She made her own decision."

Sango continued on without a word, going in the direction the unmoving Kagome had pointed. She moved quickly, her annoyance with Hiei clear and didn't care if he came or not, though he silently following. She outstretched her hand, but she didn't even have to do that as the path became much narrower, only enough room for two people to walk abreast with some space between them.

When her hand met air instead of the wall, she paused. "The wall ends." She felt around a bit more. "Well, it doesn't end, but it goes to either side…"

"An open room," he concluded for her.

A cackling sound suddenly echoed around them, causing Sango to tense. Still, she took a step into the room and then another aside, in case Hiei wanted to move around. She heard him move a bit farther into the room than she was.

"The little man is smart," the thing cackled. The sound came from above them, making both glance up. Funny how they still looked toward the sound, even if they couldn't see. The temptation to open their eyes was great, but they were smarter than that.

The air above them began making a whooshing noise… a noise that sounded like flapping wings. Wings? So they were dealing with some flying creature, probably a demon. Great. At least the demon was as blind as they were. That was a small comfort.

"More food for my dinner. Live prey, yes. Agile, young," it prattled on in its annoying, high-pitched voice.

At her command, her daggers slid out of their wrist sheaths and into her hands after the smallest flex of her muscle. She heard the ringing of metal as Hiei withdrew his sword, and to distract the demon from it, she said, "sorry to burst your bubble, but it's not dinner time yet. The sun hasn't set." Well, she wasn't entirely sure about that fact, but she was pretty sure it hadn't. She had no notion of what time she had awaken, however.

"An early dinner then. Have much more for dinner, more prey at the mouth." Its voice was closer than before and she had a mental picture of the demon, hovering not too far away from them.

_The mouth? What mou—, _she thought, before realizing. The mouth of the cave. Exactly where the rest of her companions were, unmoving. And it wanted to eat them. Eat them as they were aware of what was going on, only paralyzed, unable to stop the demon from devouring them. Being frozen, knowing you're being eaten alive?

She felt a quick surge pity for any creature who'd fallen into the demon's grasps previously, but quickly chased it away and concentrated on her own problem. This demon must have been the user of the light in the first place, capturing prey so it couldn't move and then killing it.

"That's not," she began, before abruptly lunging at the demon, "happening!"

It tittered at her attempt, flying higher above her before she could strike. "Foolish girl," it laughed. Its voice was far away again, a soft echo around the large room they seemed to be in. She tried to follow it, her knives held ready, but she had no idea where it was.

She felt a sudden rush of wind behind her and quickly tumbled to the ground, missing the attack. She then listened as Hiei struggled to fight the demon blindly not too far away, his sword clang again the stone walls as he missed and the demon laughed. Then all was quiet again, the demon stopping its attack.

It knew where they were, knew how to avoid their attacks. "I don't get it, how can it see?" Sango asked aloud, hoping she'd find the answer.

"Don't need eyes, don't need sight. Listen," the demon said in a singsong voice.

"A bat," Hiei said.

A bat demon. Great, just great. While they were left in the dark, it could navigate the cave by just hearing the way sound bounced off the walls and them. This was clearly very unfair. But then, who said things had to be fair?

"Smart little man. Make a tasty treat," it said as it swooped down to attack Hiei. He listened as best he could, using that to help him know where the demon was and counter the attack. He managed to deflect the blows, but did not manage to get any in himself.

It disappeared once again. "Hmm, power in the little one. Devour, yes. I must have it."

It was close to her, she could hear it. She spun around and attacked… but there was only air. Then without warning, claws suddenly imbedded themselves into her shoulder, the bat demon perched on top of her. And it was _heavy_. She was forced down onto her knees with a surprised cry.

She gritted her teeth against the pain and tried to attack it, but the way it held her shoulder, she couldn't move her arms much. When she tried anyway, it only deepened his hold, causing her to drop both knives from her hands. She screamed in anguish and in anger.

"A foolish girl, I've caught," it tittered, but it wasn't directing its comment to her. No, it seemed more interested in Hiei. "A deal, yes? Little man opens eyes and girl is free."

Her heart jumped into her throat, pounding much faster than usually. _He wouldn't do it, he doesn't care about anyone else but himself. He wouldn't._

She froze when his voice was carried to her. "…why should I care what her fate is?"

That was Hiei… never failing to disappoint her expectations.

She struggled and yelled, managing to throw her weight back so the demon slammed into the floor, but even then it didn't let go. It screeched in protest and managed to turn her onto her stomach and then lift both of them up, her kicking feet dangling a few feet off the ground.

"If little man has power, light won't effect," it reasoned, luring Hiei into its web.

He didn't answer right away and that's when she knew he was considering it.

And he called _her_ the idiot.

He thought he could conquer it, that the light wouldn't effect him. My, my, someone had a high opinion of themselves. She had known Hiei was hiding something, that there was something… not entirely human about him, but no matter what, she knew that it wasn't enough to withstand whatever power the light held.

"Don't be an idiot!" she yelled across the room, causing the demon to squeeze her. She didn't even care.

Hiei then did the stupidest thing she would ever see him do. Or rather, _not_ see him do.

He opened his eyes.


	8. Chapter Eight

I know nothing about Latin, they don't offer it at my school. I'm using a few words of Latin here and there in this story, so if you happen to take Latin and what I've written is completely wrong, feel free to correct me.

Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Eight**

**

* * *

**

He then did the stupidest thing she would ever see him do. Or rather, _not_ see him do.

He opened his eyes.

How did she _know_ he opened his eyes? Simple. The demon abruptly ripped its claws from her and she fell into a heap on the ground, her body falling with a sharp clack. With a delighted cackle, she heard the demon flapping away from her and toward Hiei.

She gritted her teeth as she swiftly lifted herself up, though froze momentarily when she felt one of her arms brush against something metal. Her hand snatched up the knife and she didn't even take the time to find the other; before she knew what she was doing, she was suddenly on her feet and running forward with a sharp cry of "no!".

She really didn't know where she was running, only that it was in the direction she had last heard Hiei's voice. She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to do either, but she didn't have time to decide as she slammed full bodily into something, bringing her and the object down to the ground.

The demon chattered angrily when its reaching claws missed its prey, ascending higher in the cave and away from her, at least for now. It took her a moment to shake off the hard collision before she sat up from the warm, solid object she had landed on, her free hand trying to discover what it was. Her fingers touched the soft skin of someone's face, her middle and ring finger pressed against their mouth.

Oh, of course. Hiei.

She hastily took her hand back, feeling her face heat up. _Get a grip, Sango, you have more important things to worry about_, she scolded herself, though she felt uneasy straddling the motionless Hiei. She was about to get off him when something shocked her, making her instantly forget her current position.

_Get off of me,_ she heard a voice inside her head say. She knew the voice. The problem was the whole _inside her head_ thing. Had she finally lost it?

"Hiei?" she gaped. She almost opened her eyes to stare at him, but caught herself in time.

_You look like a fish, control of yourself, woman, _he scolded.

_Yes, I've definitely gone crazy_, she thought, but _he_ interrupted by saying, _there's no time now, just listen to me, you fool. It's your fault I'm in this mess._

My _fault! _I_ told you not to—, _she began but was cut off once again by the man (was he even a man? What kind of man had the power to talk in other's minds?) under her. Now that's just unfair, getting interrupted in her own freaking mind. There had to be some rule against that… except, apparently not.

_Stop_, he commanded and she felt her annoyance rising. Or was that his? _I can see the crystal._

_Crystal?_ Sango wondered to herself, but it seemed anything she thought, he could hear whether she wanted him to or not.

_The light's source, _he told her curtly, _if you could smash it—_

_Then that should break its hold_, she finished, gladly interrupting him like he had so rudely done to her. Okay, so the situation was serious and he had a right to interrupt her, but it was still her mind. Besides she knew how much it must have pained him to have to look for help from someone else, let alone her. His suffering made up with the violation. _And none of this 'could' business. I will._

_You better, _he told her, his voice skeptical before snapping, _Down! Pay attention, you idiot!_

She heard the alarm in her mind just as she felt the first rush of wind and quickly flattened her body against his. The grasping talons just missed her, but she'd been lucky. She had not been focused, too astonished and preoccupied by her conversation with Hiei. If he hadn't warned her… She should get this over with quick. She cherished the ability to see so much more now.

He must have heard that last part or it was just a coincidence because he abruptly said, _look_, and then she could see.

Well, sort of.

It was as if she was seeing from his eyes. In fact, that _was_ what she was doing. She saw herself hovering above him, eyes closed with her face uncomfortably close to his (which she immediately rectified by pulling back) and her arms holding herself up on either side of him. And there was blood. Large quantities of blood. It was running down her shoulder, onto her arms and down her chest only to drip onto him.

Oh. She'd almost forgotten about her wounds in her panic. And then as she noticed it, what had only been a bearable pain at the back of her mind suddenly came rushing back to engulf her.

And then it had died back again until she almost couldn't feel any of it. But that wasn't right. How…?

_I've cut you off from the pain_, Hiei explained simply, _I've separated you from the part of your mind that acknowledges it. Now _get off me_ and _go, he commanded.

She slowly sat up and saw herself do it from Hiei's eyes, moving carefully as she stood and began moving. She saw her figure become a mere silhouette as she walked further from him and the light surrounded her. Off to the far side of his view, near the edges of it was a small crystal from which the light was coming from, hardly visible with such brightness around it. Her body tried to freeze upon seeing it, but she forced herself to move. Seeing it through a secondary source, she could shake it off as it tried to put a hold on her.

Her grip on the one knife tightened as she made her way toward the crystal, directing her steps from what Hiei could see, not even paying attention to any of her own senses. From behind her she saw the bat demon grinning toothily, coming closer to her. It wasn't as big as she'd originally thought, about Hiei's size, not including its wing span. It was almost upon her now.

She was ready for him.

She stopped walking, just what the demon expected her to do and it tittered with glee. It hovered closer and closer, moving silently. It was higher than she thought it would be, which explained why she missed whenever she had struck at it before. The demon extended a claw and… she spun around, surprising it, and imbedded the knife into its center. It watched her with sightless eyes, wide with surprise.

"I see you," she said through gritted teeth. She then used her foot to kick the bat demon away, dislodging her knife from it. It screeched and tumbled away, out of Hiei's sight range.

She continued toward the crystal, moving quickly, even though she didn't suspect the demon to be back any time soon. That is, if it wasn't already dead. That was a pretty nasty wound she'd given it and if she had any lucky, it'd be the end of it.

When she was in front of the crystal, she took her knife, still covered in the demon's blood, and plunged into it with all the strength she had left. She might not have been able to feel the pain, but blood loss was starting to get to her, making her mind fuzzy. The knife, however, made it through the center and the crystal cracked. Multiple, smaller cracks ran through it as well, moving quickly, taking over the whole until it suddenly burst. The light grew stronger until it was blinding before everything was abruptly plunged into darkness.

It took a few moments before his eyes adjusted to the darkness and she could see herself standing in the edges of his vision again. She hadn't opened her own eyes, having forgotten that she could. Sango turned in the direction of where her sight was coming from, looking toward Hiei. She was suddenly very, very tired.

Without warning, the demon swooped down from above her, avoiding Hiei's sight by lingering higher in the cave. Her legs failed her as she tried to spin to face it just as it extended its claws. She gasped as it imbedded its talons in her back.

The last thing she remembered before sinking into unconsciousness was watching herself fall to the ground and hitting her head hard against the stone floor. She didn't even remember falling herself, only seeing herself do it.

Then she saw no more.

* * *

Feet slightly apart, one hand at her side, the other pointing toward the direction the light was coming from. It was unbearably bright, yet she couldn't look away, couldn't even blink. All she was able to do was look at it and be blinded by it. 

Kagome stayed like that for seemed like an eternity until unexpectedly, the light disappeared and a few long moments later she was free. She was so surprised she dropped right to her knees, wincing as they slapped against the hard stone.

"Ow," she grumbled as she plopped down on he rear, rubbing her poor, abused legs. Now she had another problem. She was left in total and complete darkness.

Well, it wasn't much of a problem really, she had gotten where she was in darkness after all and she'd be able to find her way back. Only, instead of going back, she waited where she was, intending on sitting there until Hiei and Sango came back. The light had been turned off, deactivated, or whatever it did to make it stop working, so they must have done something about it. That meant they were okay… right?

Her hand went absentmindedly to Kurama's—or rather she supposed it was hers now—dagger at her side, not realizing what she was doing until she was holding the dagger in her fist. She let it go instantly as if it had bit her, though she couldn't help but keep her hand nearby.

It was still awhile longer before she heard footsteps coming her way. She quickly stood up, waiting anxiously. She first made out the outline of a person of smaller stature. Hiei, for sure. And he was carrying something in his arms…

Kagome felt her face drain of all color, her body suddenly feeling very, very cold. He held a limp body in his arms. Unmoving. Almost… dead-like.

She didn't need to ask to know who it was.

"Is she…?"

"She will be if we don't get her to that healer," he told her gruffly.

Kagome didn't waste any time. She ran ahead, running as fast as she could toward the entrance to the cave. She tripped and nearly fell quite a few times, but managed to keep on her feet with the help of the cave wall. Breathless, she reached the others, her eyes quickly scanning over them. They had been all talking at once, though she had no idea what since she didn't care at the moment, but they all quieted when they saw her.

She rushed forward and took the healer's hand. "Botan. Now," she said between breaths, tugging her to her feet before she could protest. She had been about to pull her deeper into the cave, but saw she didn't have to. Somehow Hiei had gotten there nearly as fast as she had, only a minute or so behind. But how…?

He laid Sango on the floor in a (one might dare to say) gentle fashion and Botan immediately went to work. Her face had turned completely serious; she seemed a completely different person. With a few stern words, she ordered all the men outside and surprisingly they obeyed her though they did not all go without complaint. Botan hardly heard the words and didn't even check to see if they were gone before she undressed the fighter to see to her wounds (which chased a lingering Yusuke away, who in turn dragged Miroku out). The rest of the women did as they were told, trying in any way to help.

"Curatio lux lucis," she said, holding her hands over Sango's shoulders. A blue light radiated off them and seeped into Sango, beginning to knit the torn muscles back together. It was a slow process. "This is much worse than what happened to you, Kagome," Botan muttered absentmindedly. "This will be a long night."

* * *

She drifted in and out constantly, so many times that she wondered if it was really happening or just a really annoying dream. She only remembered bits and pieces of what happened; a soothing feeling seeping into her shoulders, chasing away the pain; someone pouring water down her throat and her croaking for more; people watching over her, though it was always a different person every time Sango opened her eyes. Once she saw Hiei in front of her, causing her to ask, "demon?" and he answered just as simply, "dead," before she passed out again, more at ease. 

This time, however, things were more lucid when she became aware again and she knew she wouldn't be falling unconscious again. She opened her eyes slowly and… was staring at stone above her.

"Can't we just leave this place already?" she muttered, referring to the cave. She hardly recognized her own voice; the words were croaked out of her.

"We can once you actually remain conscious for more than, oh, I don't know, _five seconds_," she heard someone next to her scolded. She turned her head to the side to see Yusuke sitting there.

She blinked blankly at him, causing him to frown. "How ya feeling?"

How _did_ she feel? Her mind was still unclear, a fuzzy feeling dominating her senses. She shifted slightly and… oh, yes, there it was. The soreness and pain. Lovely, just lovely. But it wasn't as bad as it should have been. No, definitely not. She probably had Botan to thank for that.

Realizing that he was still waiting for an answer, she said, "like someone took a stick and beat me over the head with it. Multiple times." She brought a hand to her temple, trying to suppress the dull thudding. "I'd accuse you, but I know you wouldn't bother with the stick." As he figured out she was joking she turned her head, searching, before saying, "…water…?" in a questioning way.

She heard a soft tsking coming from behind Yusuke before Botan came into view, canteen in hand. "You wouldn't be very good at taking care of anyone, you know," the healer accused Yusuke. She sat down alongside him and next to her patient, looking down at her with kind eyes. "Good to see you're finally awake. I was worried with all the blood you lost."

She could tell, however, that Sango was not really paying attention to her words, looking longingly at the water instead. Botan deprived her no longer, putting the flask against her lips so she wouldn't have to sit up. "Don't drink too fast."

When every last drop had been had, Sango relaxed again, closing her eyes. She wasn't tired—she'd been "asleep" enough already—but she didn't have all her strength either. At least she had nothing to worry about at the moment. If anything attacked, they had enough fighters with them now that she didn't have to be concerned and that bat demon was dead, Hiei had told her that. Although that could have been her imagination as she went in and out.

Botan began explaining to her some of what had happened and what healing she had done for Sango. The fighter was only half-listening. There would be some scarring on her back, though she managed to heal most of what had been done to her shoulder so it wouldn't leave any marks. She had Kagome's blanket currently over her and bandaging wrapped around her from her breasts down to mid-stomach, as well as some that crossed over her body so her shoulders could be covered too. They'd only removed her shirt while they worked on her, which was now lying next to her (which suddenly made her uncomfortable a male nearby). Kagome had mended the shirt where it was torn, while Shizuru had gotten out as much of the blood as she could. They had all been very frightened (to which Yusuke rolled his eyes. Frightened? Him? Nah, he knew she'd be alright—though seeing his face, she knew he was lying), Botan told her, when Hiei had brought her back to them, looking like a bloody rag doll in his arms.

But speaking of the assassin…

"Hiei," she said as she abruptly sat up, and immediately regretted it. It was the only reason she allowed Botan to push her firmly back down, though she grabbed her arms to do it instead of her shoulders, understandably why.

Yusuke gave her an odd look. "Of all people, he's the first you ask for?" he said, a disbelieving quality in his voice. "You must have hit your head harder than we thought."

"He's fine," Botan informed her.

No they didn't know. They didn't know what she did. "I need to ask…" She dropped off there; she couldn't say more. Not until she knew what was going on.

"If you're worried about that damn demon, he killed it. Or so he told us," he added as an afterthought.

That was, of course, not what she wanted to ask. Instead of going into the whole thing, telling him that it in fact had to do with their mysterious companion and some secrets he had withheld, she wisely kept her mouth shut and put (what she hoped was) a relieved look on her face. She wouldn't mention anything to the others, not yet. She owed Hiei at least that, if not more.

To distract them from what they thought was obvious concern for Hiei, she asked, "where are the others?"

The cave was empty besides the three of them, people-wise. Besides them there was the remains of a fire, the other's belongings scattered everywhere, though most of it Kagome's, and—she noticed with a smile—her two blades lying beside her, perfectly clean. Though she couldn't help but wonder who had done that for her.

"I didn't want to crowd you too much, so I've only had one person watching over you at a time," Botan explained. Before Sango could say something along the lines of, "I wish you hadn't gone to all that trouble," Botan continued, "the rest are outside. It's the first time it hasn't been raining in days and its warmer out there than—"

"Days?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, congratulations, Sango," Yusuke told her dryly. "You've been out for two whole days."

She blinked. "I beg your pardon?" No wonder she felt as good as she did. Botan was a good healer and all, one of the best actually, but she shouldn't have felt this well if it'd had only been a few hours. But the healer had had two whole days to work on her.

Yusuke raised an eyebrow at her words. "Getting formal all the sudden?"

"I'm just… surprised, that's all." She then said she wanted to go see the others, but Botan refused to let her move around yet. Normally she would have protested, but where, really, could she go in this forest, besides the ten feet to the rest of her companions? There was no point in using that much effort.

Instead, however, Botan sent Yusuke out to get the others as Sango grabbed her shirt to put it on. Hey, she might have been covered in bandages that were modest enough, but she felt all the more comfortable with actual clothes on, thank you very much.

They came in and greeted her and she did the same quietly, not liking everyone's attention on her, especially when she was so weak. She participated in idle conversation and answered their questions. Yes, she was okay. No, she wasn't in much pain, thanks to Botan. Yes, she wanted to get moving as soon as possible, which they decided would be the next morning.

When things got quieter though, she directed her gaze at Hiei, staring at him. And he knew it too, even if he never glanced her way. Finally when others started to notice the strangeness her intent gaze, she heard the word _later_ in her head and only then did she look to Kagome, who had just asked her something.

Sango hadn't noticed it before in all the panic of battle, but his mind speak left a tingling feeling in her head that wasn't entirely unpleasant. She wondered if he meant to do it (which she highly doubted) or if it was just a side effect of the use of mind speaking. If it was, she didn't mind it.

"Later" must have come, because when everyone started to drift off, Hiei abruptly disappeared from the entrance of the cave. She took this as a sign to take her leave as well, though she knew she wouldn't be able to leave as inconspicuous as he, not after having just been wounded.

She excused herself and went to the entrance, saying she wanted to get some fresh air (though technically they were already outside, but it didn't seem too matter to them). Miroku mentioned how she shouldn't go out alone just as she was about to leave. It made her pause, but then she glared his way, saying a curt, "I can take care of myself," and rather stiffly walked into the darkness.

Sango walked out deeper into the forest, plants and stones crunching under the force of her weight. She pushed bushes and leaves out of her way as she walked, her eyes searching for a certain assassin. It was when she heard a soft crunch behind her, so soft that she hardly even noticed, that she spun around, one of her blade springing into her hand.

Hiei gave her a contemptible look, not even glancing down at the blade a few inches from his body. Judging from the softly swaying branch above them, he had dropped down from the trees, landing behind her.

"Do _not_," she scolded, " do that. Especially when we're in a demon infested forest."

He continued to give her that same pitying look as he brushed past her, while she put the blade back in its place. She turned to follow his movement, only to find he was already looking at her from a few feet away.

"It's not my intention to scare. You're just not alert enough to notice my presence."

Um, ouch. From someone else it might have just been a fact and not at all scornful. From him, it unmistakably was. _Insult me some more, why don't you_, she thought.

_Gladly_, came the response in her thoughts. That same tingle happened as it did before. It was a rubbing against the back of her mind… like when a cat rubbed against a person it had affection for.

Yeah, now she knew he _definitely_ wasn't doing it on purpose.

She pushed the thoughts aside and was thankful for the darkness that hid the blush she knew had come to her cheeks. "You owe me an explanation," she told him. Good, at least her voice came out even and stern.

He didn't want to answer her, didn't want to tell her, she knew. After a brief silence he said, "I saved your life."

Wow. Just… wow. _Hiei_ was reminding her how he _saved_ her. He must have been _that_ desperate for a change of subject. It must have been something he really did not want others to know.

"And I saved yours," she reminded him. She gave her surrounding a quick glance over before finding a suitable place to sit down. She plopped down on the fallen trunk. "Getting pretty banged up in the process, I might add. You still owe the explanation."

"I owe you nothing," he replied coldly, his voice low and threatening as he said it.

She shrugged nonchalantly as she got up. "Alright, I guess I'll go tell the others…" she called as she turned her back on him. She was bluffing, of course. Or, at least, she though she was. If he didn't give her the answers than she might have to… after all, he could be a danger to them…

Suddenly he was a step behind her, though he had been a few feet behind her a second before. He reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly. "You won't." He said it in a commanding tone, as though if there was no way she'd ever argue with him.

Yeah, right. Like there'd be a day when _that_ happened. It might have worked on others—he _did_ have an intimidating presence—but not on her.

She stared down to where his hand was touching her wrist, wrapped around her somewhat warm skin. He followed her gaze and dropped her arm quickly as though it had burned, then threw her a glare as though it were her fault. _Her_ fault. Why and how could he blame it on her?

"Then tell me what is it that you did." She made her voice soft, which she realized a mistake as she did it. He didn't want to be patronized.

She moved back to her spot, sitting on the tree as he turned his back to her. He didn't speak and she wondered if he was too annoyed with how she'd said her words. Just as she began to wonder if he would even say anything at all, he began talking. "I can read people's thoughts and talk to them, mind to mind. But only if I've had direct contact with them before."

"But you touched me when we first met. You mean you've been reading my thoughts all this time?" She was more than a little angry by that. And embarrassed. All the things he must have heard…

"_Direct_ contact," he said once again, giving her a look as though he thought she had just grown dumber in the past five minutes.

It took her a moment before she said slowly, "you mean, skin to skin," to which he gave a soft, "hn." She opened her mouth to argue, but closed it almost as soon. It was true, he never had. The time they first met, he held her hands together behind her back by holding her sleeves. Then when he held her throat it had been her shirt he'd been touching. Never once had he touched her skin. Any of the travelers' skin, for that matter. He stayed away from everyone so that even an accidental touch was impossible.

But she had touched him when she'd knocked him down to save him. That was when he'd first intruded her thoughts.

Some other things made more sense as the broken, unfinished chains of her memory linked together in her mind. The way Hiei and Kurama had just stared at each other… and that eerie feeling she'd gotten. Kurama must have known about Hiei as well and they'd been communicating. The two did seem to know each other well, not to mention they were acquaintances before Kagome's—_their_ journey started.

And another thing. She had wondered how he had known the other were paralyzed by the light. How could he have known without opening his eyes and seeing it himself? He couldn't, of course. But Kurama, having gotten caught by it, would have. And all Kurama had to do was tell Hiei and then those who hadn't been caught could save the others.

He watched her process all this, practical being able to see the wheels turning in her head. Not to mention he could hear her as well.

_But wouldn't it be an advantage? He could just touch his an enemy and know what they're plotting, _Sango thought.

_Nothing is as simple as that. But you may live in your delusions if you want_, Hiei cut in.

I wish you'd stop doing that. Even in her head it sounded grouchy. 

If she didn't know better, there was the smallest bit of a smirk on his face. She couldn't believe it; He was _enjoying_ violating her mind by listening to her thoughts. Probably because it annoyed her so much.

_Once I touch a person, I can hear their thoughts. Always._ He could feel the panic raise in her and almost smirked further. But for some reason, he put her fears to rest. Somewhat. _Though I can shield and they can_ if_ they're smart enough to know how, which most humans aren't._ Just because he thought he put her too at ease (and he couldn't have that) he added aloud, "but you'll never know when I'm listening and when I'm not. I doubt someone like _you_ would be able to keep me out."

"And what's that suppose to mean?" she questioned crossly. He didn't answer her, however, turning his attention elsewhere as she continued to digest the information she just received. She was silent for a long time and Hiei jumped onto a low branch of a tree, resting there with his eyes closed.

He didn't listen, however, to what went through her mind. Being in the thoughts of some girl was not something he desired even remotely. He had once before and the brainless, stupid things the woman had thought were enough to be maddening. He didn't want the same experience repeated.

Which was why he was unprepared for what was coming next.

"I don't get it," she suddenly decided, announcing it out loud to him.

His eyes opened as he raised an eyebrow. "Stupidity must run in your family if that cousin of yours is an indication. I don't think its possible to put it in simpler words."

She glared at him and didn't even waste time to think of a decent insult to throw back at him. "I mean _how_? _How_ is it possible? Are you even… human?" She asked it hesitantly, not wanting to upset him. If he wasn't human… well, then she _really_ didn't want to upset him. At least, not when she wasn't a hundred percent. Though her knives were back in place, just in case. But what was she thinking? He had just saved her, he wouldn't kill her now. Later, maybe. But now? No.

He didn't look at her, his gaze instead off into the forest. The quiet stretched between them. She could have apologized (though she disliked even the idea of it) and said it was none of her business. She knew it was what Kagome or Botan would have done. But she had to know. She wouldn't risk anyone getting hurt if he was… not.

It was like he read her mind. …And she supposed he might have. "And if I wasn't?" All she could do was shrug. What if he wasn't? What would she do? He hadn't hurt any of their numbers so far… so it wouldn't really change anything. She'd just be more prepared if she knew what he was.

There was a long silence where she just watched him, her eyes neither hostile nor friendly. He knew her gaze was on him, but continued to look into the distance. Surprisingly after minutes upon minutes of quietness, he did answer her question directly.

"From what I know, my parents were human, but my father possessed power that others didn't. They were hunted and killed by their village. I survived on the outskirts of this forest." A pause. "…I don't know what happened to my sister."

She dropped the topic. She wasn't fool enough to continue it; she could tell he might get malicious if she did. Instead, she moved on by saying, "so you can mind speak and I know you're faster than any human should be. And stronger too." She remembered how easily he put his sword down through the thick skull of that first demon they had met. Yeah, definitely stronger. _Probably something to do with fire as well_, she thought, remembering how easily he had sparked the fire on the wet wood. "Anything else I should know about?"

There was a pause. "No."

She stood up and moved closer to the tree he sat in. They weren't on eye level because he sat on the branch, though it only put his face a foot higher than her own, which was a change. "Why don't I believe you?" she inquired, mostly to herself. She eyed him with curiosity in her gaze. She didn't have anything to fear from him. Not right now. "What else are you hiding?"

She could practically feel the anger and annoyance rolling off of him, finally fed up with her questioning, no doubt wondering why he'd told her as much as he did or anything at all. Meanwhile, she was wondering if she had possibly gone too far when suddenly one moment she was looking up at him, the next he was standing beside her. As she turned to face him, his hand reached for the white bandana he always wore around his forehead.

With one swift tug it was loose. He let it drop from his hands and…

She gasped at what she saw.

* * *

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**AN**: _I know I don't say this enough because my head is usually too scrambled when I'm trying to update, but thank you very much to everyone who left their wonderful reviews! You're so sweet and they really brighten up my day!_


	9. Chapter Eight: Side Story

Hey look it's not a chapter! Instead you get to read (if you want) a side story starring… well, you'll find that out if you read. Though things that happen in here will come in to play later on, but most of the important information will be in the story also.So I suppose you don't _have_ to read.

Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

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Lost City **

**Chapter Eight – Side Story**

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Fire licked at her skin and she curled more into herself, bringing the infants closer to her. She stayed as close to the ground as she could, coughing as smoke filled her lungs. Flames surrounded them at every turn; there was no escape from it. The door was barricaded and couldn't be budged. No, they didn't want them getting out.

They wanted them to burn.

The babies were crying, but even that was drowned out by the yelling and the blazing house. She tried to shield them as much as she could, but nothing could protect them from the flames around them. The wood above them cracked and hissed, the fire eating away at the wooden house. The ceiling would collapse, it was only a manner of minutes.

The man yelled the woman's name, she heard it faintly. She looked up at her husband, her eyes tearing from the smoke. Even as she saw his mouth move and knew he was shouting, she couldn't hear a word. It was only when she saw him gesturing toward her did she understand.

She climbed to her feet clumsily, a babe in each arm. Her husband grabbed her arm, helping her along quickly into the bedroom. There were more flames in the room and she cringed back, but he urged her forward. She complied with reluctance.

He ushered her to the small window, smashing it open with an elbow. He pushed her toward it.

She hesitated only a moment in which she saw the ceiling in the room she had just been in collapse, then wasted no time in crawling out the window. She fell ungracefully to the ground, tumbling somewhat, but didn't care; as long as the babies were alright.

Fire burst through the window and she grew frightened, waiting anxiously in the shadows. The flames burned outside, shooting from the opening and she feared he would not follow. Then he burst through, rolling as he fell to the hard ground. He got up quickly with speed no human should possess and went to his wife.

They began hurrying away, him with one arm around her to move her quickly. She tripped and fell to her knees when he tried to move her faster than her body could allow and both immediately froze as they heard the angered cry.

The villagers had seen them.

They knew they had escaped.

Her eyes widened as she looked to her husband. "Run," he suddenly told her, his voice low.

She watched him, fear clearly written all over her face. "But—"

"I'll be right behind you," he assured her with a small, tight smile. The angry voices grew louder and they turned around to see them coming closer, weapons in their hands.

And at that moment, they both knew he was lying.

He turned her roughly toward him, giving her a quick kiss before pushing her away. "Now run!"

She did the only thing she could. She ran with everything she could away from the angry villagers. Away from her husband. The sounds of fighting and her labored breathing filled her ears and she was blind to everything else around her. The fighting got more distant as she ran… then she couldn't hear them at all…

Until a sudden scream of agony tore through the night.

Her footsteps never faltered as she kept running, clutching her children closer to her, all the while silent tears streamed down her face.

They blurred her vision; she didn't care. She felt numb as she ran, hot tears spilling down her cheeks and dropping to the earth, forgotten. She didn't care where she was running as long as it was away. She could hear them coming, could hear the shouting.

They were coming after her now. No, not only her.

She tripped and landed hard on the ground, letting out a cry that was half-lost in a sob. She struggled to get to her feet, the weight of the children holding her arms down. She kept going. She couldn't stop. Wouldn't let herself stop.

It was then, in a brief moment when her vision was clear, that it caught her eye.

The forest.

Certainly if she went there… it was the one place they would not follow her. They wouldn't dare.

Without hesitation, she changed her direction, running toward the forest that seemed to whisper to her, inviting her into its depths. She was slowing down, her legs unable to take the strain, but it wouldn't stop her from heading toward it. Her footing was faulty, tripping constantly on the edge of her skirt, falling and rolling down the various hills. Yet every time she staggered back to her feet, the thoughts of her children the only thing that kept her moving.

Her heart was beating so fast, but it leapt for joy when she passed the first of the trees. She was safe! There was no way they would set a foot in the forest. They, her and her children, would be safe from them.

Her heart seemed to stop just quickly as it had leapt. Her blood went cold, a feeling of dread filling her as the blood drained from her face.

Yukina.

_Where was Yukina?_

There was only one infant in her arms now, her son staring blankly up at his mother. Frantically she looked around her, but saw nothing. One of those times she tripped… oh, Goddess.

The tears fell even faster and she began sobbing, unable to help herself. She couldn't leave her child behind. Without much thought, she put her son gently onto the forest floor before she ran back out onto the hilly terrain.

He didn't even make a sound.

Her legs gave way almost immediately from exhaustion, but she crawled until she forced herself back onto her feet, her eyes searching the darkness. She didn't dare call out to her. They were close by, she knew it.

There! Her seeking eyes found Yukina, her red eyes evident even in the dark. She fell to her knees next to her daughter with a quieted sob of relief, picking her up in her arm. Yukina cried as her mother's teardrops fell onto her and she tried to shush her daughter.

She quickly got to her feet and began running, only to fall back onto her knees with a scream.

Something… her back…

A second arrow followed then another and another, imbedding themselves into her back. The shower didn't stop until she fell onto the ground and lay completely still, tears lingering in her sightless eyes.

* * *

A villager walked up to the woman, tapping her with his boot. "She's dead," he announced to the rest. 

There was a murmur of approve from the others, though the announcer paused when he heard muffled crying. Using his foot he flipped the dead woman over, revealing a crying baby. His face scrunched up with disgust. "What do we do with it?"

An argument began over the fate of the baby. Some wanted to kill it, other said to leave it where it lay. Another, one of the softer men, suggested bringing it back to the village, though he was given scornful looks. They didn't want its dirtied blood walking around in their peaceful village.

Finally, one man, the strongest of them all by far, took up the leader role and said in a deep, rough voice, "bring it to the King. Have him pass judgement on the baby's fate."

There was another murmur, this time of agreement, until the announcer asked, "what about the other one? There was a twin and she had it with her when she left the fire."

The man looked toward the forest, undoubtedly where the woman was heading. Just looking at it gave him shivers.

"Leave it to die."

* * *

The wolf circled the infant, grinning toothily. An easy prey for such a hunter, but food was food. The babe didn't even seem to notice the wolf's presence, looking up into the trees' branches with watchful eyes, completely still, completely silent. The wolf moved closer still, teeth barred, and his mouth salivating in anticipation. It wasn't much, but it would be a good meal. He stalked over to it, having no need to pounce on something so weak and defenseless. 

A sudden fog rolled in and the wolf paused, his ears pulling back. He sniffed the air for a moment as though it had an odd scent, before dismissing it and looking back at his prey. It was then that a dark silhouette appeared, walking closer and making the predator freeze once again.

A young woman emerged from the fog, appearing as if from no where. A velvet green dress and cloak adorned her, the hood drawn up and shadowing half her face. Only the bottom half of her face was visible, showing lips that were as red as any rose and unmistakably just as soft as any of the petals. They curled into a small smile.

Her steps were slow and graceful, not at all hurried in their stride. The wolf cowered before her, one of his paws taking a step back as she drew closer. She paused only a few inches from the wolf, using one finger to merely tapping the predator gently on the nose. His ears pulled back as he ran from her sulkily, tail between his legs.

Melodious music sounded as she laughed. "Sorry, sweet hunter," she mused with a smile, "but he will not be your next meal."

She pulled her hood back, revealing a pale, beautiful face, too perfect to be real. Her skin was flawless, not a single line or wrinkle to be found. She had hair so dark the night paled in comparison, the locks reaching down to the middle of her back, only the slightest bit wavy. The only unusual thing about her were her eyes. The right eye was brown like freshly turned soil; the other as green as the most lively of leaves.

Her every move was fluid as she knelt in front of the babe, her skirt spreading perfectly around her. The child tilted its head toward her as though examining her, still as silent as ever.

"You, my child, have a great destiny ahead of you." Her voice was smooth and comforting, yet firm, incontrovertible. The infant only stared at her blankly.

She scooped the child up into her arms and walked further into the forest, not stopping until she reached a small hut. Pausing at the door, she looked down at the baby in her arms. She took her thumb and touched it to his chest, writing the sign of the warrior. It flashed a bright green before it bled into his chest, sinking under his skin until it was not longer visible. She then moved her finger to his forehead, this time making the sign of the Goddess lightly on his skin. It, too, flashed a bright green, but it did not vanish like the other.

Without another word she left the child in front of the hut, giving the wood one sharp rap. Then she turned and walked into the woods, disappearing once more into the mysterious fog.

The rickety door to the hut swung open, an old woman appearing from its depth. She looked around the surrounding area before noticing the child with a scowl.

"What do _you_ want?" she asked, but being a babe, he of course did not answer. He continued to just look at her and she noticed a certain intelligence in his gaze. "Well, aren't you a strange one. At least you're not a whinny brat."

For a long time the two just stared at each other, as though one was testing the other. Than the baby closed his eyes, falling asleep. The old woman sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Why do these things always happen to _me_…?"

_

* * *

_

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"Get that, boy," the old woman scolded. "You should know that you should help your elders."

After throwing a glare her way (which only made her chuckle), the five-year-old jumped down from his chair, going to the door. The banging came again, annoying the hell out of him, and causing him to throw the door open mid-knock. The man who had been banging stumbled forward a step and threw the young boy a nasty look. He sent an equally nasty one right back. For a young boy, it was eerie how good he was at it.

"The hag's got a boy workin' for her now?" the man declared, mostly to himself. "Damn, what's this world comin' to."

The man composed himself and brushed past the boy as though he didn't exist and sat down on the chair the boy had occupied minutes before. It angered the kid further and he might have done something, but the woman saw the look on his face and shook her head slightly. The boy settled for glaring at the next person coming in instead.

Surprisingly, it was a young boy with cropped red hair that followed. The redhead blinked with surprise when he saw the younger boy, but without a word of acknowledgement went to stand next to the seated man he had come with.

The two talked "business" for a long time, though the boys didn't pay attention. They were too engrossed by their staring contest (or rather, glaring, on the younger one's part), to be concerned with whatever trivial matters they talked about. The adults went on for a long time until the man abruptly smashed his hand against the table and stood up.

"You betta have our money next time, hag," he said between gritted teeth. His gaze then fell on the boy. "I'd hate for something… bad to happen to the boy."

To the man's chagrin, the old woman began laughing, though halfway through, it turned into a coughing fit. When she was under control again she said, "you'd be surprised what that boy can do."

He glanced at the small kid. "He don't look like much."

"And that's exactly why and how he'll get you."

He looked skeptical. "Whatever, you crazy old hag," the man muttered before leaving with the redhead in tow, and just for effects, made sure to slam the door on his way out.

* * *

It was a year later that the man returned, only to find the place in shambles. 

"If she up and left on us, I swear I'll ring her and the boy's neck when I find 'em," the man muttered under his breath. He pushed the door open, but the inside wasn't in much better condition. He did notice, however, that all the old woman's belongings were still there. "So the old bat finally shriveled up and died. About time." He gestured to the young redhead who'd returned with him. "Search for the money."

The boy complied without a word, beginning to search. There wasn't much to search, really. The entire house was one room, a table and chairs scattered to one side, a bed at another with a pile of rags next to it, probably the boy's bed.

A flash of lightning illuminated the area for a moment and the redhead noticed from the corner of his eye, the other boy watching them. The light was gone almost as soon as it appeared, but now that he noticed him, he could still see his red eyes blazing as he watched them. Then, as if he knew the redhead's gaze was on him, he disappeared. One minute he was there, the next he was gone.

When he heard the man grunt and fall to his knees, the redhead looked to see the young boy behind him, a sword bigger than himself held at the man's throat. The man's reaction, however, wasn't what the boy had hoped. The man only laughed as though his life weren't on the line, maybe because he thought the boy was too young or because he didn't have the guts.

Either way, he informed the boy with a dry chuckle, "you've got spunk kid, but you can't handle somethin' that big, 'specially when you ain't trained with it."

The redhead didn't even turn their way besides for an initial glance, continuing to inspect the room instead. He obviously was not concerned at all about them, man or the boy, as though knowing nothing would happen. Or perhaps not caring if it did.

The young redhead's hand reached out, knocking something over by mistake. It fell to the floor with a loud clang, causing him to glance at the man sheepishly. "Sorry."

The man looked to the dropped shovel, covered in fresh soil. He glanced back at the boy with the sword. "You buried the crone yourself?" He seemed to turn this over in his mind. He muttered to himself, "The kid's got guts. Guts and courage, not 'ffected by death…"

All the while the man continued to grumble to himself, the redhead continued to search the shelves. Moving an old book away, he found a hidden pouch behind it. Giving it a slight shake and hearing the clang of coins, the redhead immediately handed it over to the man. During the exchange the boy took the time to back away, sword still in hand and ready to attack if he had to.

The man continued to eye him with curiosity that the boy didn't like. "There ain't nothin' for you here now, kid. Want to come back with us? I could teach you how to use that thing." He nodded his head toward the sword. "Among other things."

There was a brief silence before the boy nodded curtly. "What, are you a mute?" When the boy did not reply, he just shook his head and turned. "Ah, whatever."

The redhead watched the man walk out of the small house before turning to the younger boy. There was an interested light in the redhead's eyes, nothing hostile about him. At least nothing that the boy could see.

"My name is Kurama. Do you have a name I can call you by?"

There was another silence, but Kurama waited patiently, almost knowing that he'd answer.

And he did. He answered with one word.

"Hiei."

* * *

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* * *

**

**AN**:

_Here are some **answers** to the questions asked in reviews. Eek, no I'm not quitting, sorry for the long absence! The journey to the Lost City will be long. I'd say three-fourths of the story will be the journey because of many obstacles, including some "bad guys" that you all know and love. Yes, Kagome will have powers. Cat, I'm gonna need your help with the Latin, I just keep forgetting to e-mail you-.- No reaction from Sango for awhile actually because next chapter won't really follow her. She spent two chapters in the spot light, had to take her out for awhile. Was what Sango saw the Jagan? I don't you, you tell me:P The pairings are… oh, wait, you have to figure it out on your own, though it'll be pretty apparent soon. Especially because of next chapter, hehehe._


	10. Chapter Nine

**AN**: Here's a summary of the last chapter (not including the side chapter) to refresh your memory. After Sango knocks Hiei down to save him from the demon, she makes a startling discovery. Hiei is telepathic (though only with people he was touched). With his help she's able to destroy the crystal, which is the source of the light that has paralyzed him and all her other traveling companions. Unfortunately, the demon manages to get one more attack in and knocks her unconscious. She awakes two days later after Botan heals her and she waits until night before she tries to get answers from Hiei. He is in fact human (or so he told her), just has enhanced abilities that others don't, like Botan and her healing powers. She asks if he has anything else hidden and he replies no, but she doesn't believe him. He then gives a tug to his bandana and lets it fall to the ground, revealing…

Warning: Some… er… sexual conduct (not that bad though), so if you don't want to read, then don't.

Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Nine**

**

* * *

**

Kagome glanced away from the glaring sun and down at Kurama as he held her bag open, watching her with patient green eyes. She was pretty sure from the look in his eyes that he was, but still she called down, "are you ready?"

"Whenever you are," was his polite reply.

With a nod, she moved from her current branch and climbed onto another, her arms gripping higher limbs above her for balance. Holding a branch firmly in one hand, she outstretched her other, reaching for one of the tree's many fruits. She grasped it with a small, happy cry of triumph and with a glance down (good thing she wasn't afraid of heights), she tossed it to where Kurama stood. He had to adjust his arms a bit, but the fruit landed neatly in her bag with a dull thud as the blanket inside cradled it.

The bag was thankfully lighter than it had first been, making it easier to carry around. Botan had seen to that when they had first stopped at the cave, ridding Kagome of all unnecessary items. Fortunate for her, now that they kept everyone's reserved food in it, they all took turns carrying it for a day.

Kurama had been the most reasonable choice at the time to ask for help. Botan and Sango were both exhausted; Botan had spent most of her energy the night before healing Sango as much as she could since the fighter refused for them to stay put another day on her behalf. However, such a heavy healing was tiring for both parties involved.

As far as the others males went, she didn't trust them not to look up her skirt as she climbed around the tree above them, the exception being Hiei, as usual. He just plainly wouldn't have helped her at all. That left her with only two choices, either Kurama or Shizuru. Seeing as how she still didn't know Sango's cousin all too well, Kurama it was then.

He, of course, complied easily, being far too polite to do otherwise as far as Kagome saw it. Whether or not he actually wanted to help was beyond her since he was difficult to read. For whatever reason he did so, he stood below as she climbed her way through the tree, dropping fruit when and where she found it.

Kagome paused a moment, gazing down at the strange fruit in her hand, unlike any she'd seen before. It was like a pear in shape, only larger and definitely not as firm. No, it was soft and slightly squishy more than anything else. The color was odd as well, a deep red that had a swirling design on the fruit's skin, getting lighter as it curled inward.

"Are we sure these things are edible?" Kagome questioned, still staring at the questionable food in her hands.

"There is no way to know for certain," Kurama responded from below.

They didn't have much of a choice, really. Their food reserves were running out. It was best to save those for a time when they really needed them and scavenge when they still had the chance. While the fruit they found might look questionable, it wasn't likely that it would be poisonous, though even that could have been overcome, seeing as how they had a healer among them. But like Kurama has said, there was no way to be certain of the nature of the fruit.

Hearing this, Kagome shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

"I don't think that's…" 'wise' would have been the next word out of his mouth had it not died on lips when Kurama saw her take a bite.

Her lips touched the skin and tiny shocks went through her, making her smile against it. A moment later she bit into it and juice dripped out onto her lips, a small portion trickling down her chin while still more seeped onto her hands. The piece she swallowed slid down her throat leaving a tingling feeling in its path, all the way down to the pit of her stomach. Her body temperature raised as it spread throughout her, making her smile lazily at its pleasantry.

"Mmm," she said, voicing her delight as she wiped away the small drop on her chin. Her eyes closed and she let the bitten fruit drop from her sticky hands. Kurama made no move to catch it, letting it drop with a soft thud. "It's sweet. Has a bit of a tangy-ness to it too." Was it just her, or did her voice sound breathy?

Opening her eyes, she swung herself with ease onto a lower branch, her body moving easier than it had before. The smoothness of her motions didn't comfort him, however. "Are you alright?" he inquired. He let the bag drop, instead moving closer to where she was.

One of her hands grabbed lightly at a branch, her foot dipping below the limb she stood on before coming back to rest on it as she walked forward. She paused to glance down at him from above. "My head it just feels… It's… odd, I feel… giddy."

Without a thought, she leapt down and only his quick reflexes saved her from the fall. He caught her before she could hurt herself, placing her gently on her feet. Her hands held his upper arms, her face buried in his chest and very slowly she raised her head to look at him.

"You should be more careful. You could get hurt," he told her.

She didn't respond, didn't even look sheepish or anything of the sort. Instead she looked slyly up at him, her lips curling up into a smile unlike any he'd seen on her face. Her hands ran up his arms until they linked around his neck, his neck tingling at her touch.

Kurama's hands went to her waist, though only to try to push her back gently. Her hands, however, wouldn't move from around him, which troubled him. Something wasn't right; she wasn't acting herself. Her eyes… there was something in her eyes…

"Kurama…" She spoke his name lowly, emotion in her voice as she watched him through half-lidded eyes. Her hands unlocked and slid down to hold both sides of his neck. He finally recognized the look in her eyes—although he had been trying to convince himself otherwise—just as she spoke.

"Kiss me."

Before he could open his mouth to protest or try to move her away again, her hands brought him down to her and her lips found his. His eyes widened in shock as she moved her lips against his. It was awkward at first as though even with her sudden confidence, she wasn't sure what she was doing. She quickly got the hang of it, however, applying pressure to his lips and taking it away to torture his bottom lip before moving more insistently against his mouth again.

Her tongue moved insistently against his lips and he opened up to her, allowing her entrance. The sweetness of the fruit filled him as she explored his mouth. He finally closed his eyes and brought his face closer willingly; she no longer had to hold him to her.

His mind raced against it, though his body moved on its own. She pulled back for a moment and he managed to say her name, opening his eyes. He meant for it to come out alarmed or at least surprised, but it came out hoarsely instead, thick with what sounded like passion.

His neck burned with the need to be touched. He moved her hands there, but she slid them down to his chest, only increasing his want. She slipped her hands down further until he grabbed her hands where they were on his sides, entwining them with his.

It wasn't enough. He wanted more.

He pulled her roughly against him, but she didn't complain, quite the opposite actually. They met halfway for a kiss, each eating away at the other's mouth with passion and longing neither knew they possessed. Kagome's arms went around Kurama's neck around as she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He lost his balance then and they fell backwards together.

She moved her legs just in time, landing on the ground straddling him. His hands gripped her waist tightly, touching her bare skin. Kagome hardly noticed, however, as she began kissing her way down his jaw to his neck.

Kurama tried to sort out his muddled thoughts, but everything seemed to be pushed away besides the feel of Kagome against him. He fought to regain control, but her kisses were distracting, not to mention his hands that were slowly sliding up her skin. But he couldn't seem to stop.

"Kag…ome…" he said, struggling to find his words and trying to keep his voice even. Well, at least the former was slightly working. "I don't… think…"

He cut off and gasped as Kagome's hands found their way under his shirt, running her fingers over the muscles of his abdomen. His skin burned with desire wherever she touched and whatever he was about to say, melted away completely.

Footsteps approached them before abruptly stopping mid-step. The aghast voice came, "woah, lay off each other for a second, will you?" They didn't turn toward the speaker, nor react to his words. Their actions continued, as though they hadn't heard.

This wasn't normal behavior for either of them. Something wasn't right and Yusuke knew it. _Oh, fuck._ "Kagome, get off him!" he snapped. "Hiei! Sango! People! Get over here _now_."

He grabbed her upper arm and drew her off Kurama, wrenching the hand that was under his shirt away. He froze in the middle of the motion, however, as Kagome turned blurry eyes filled with heat toward Yusuke. He didn't know what to do, couldn't move as she ran her other hand over his arm, slowly making her way upward…

Kurama decided for Yusuke as he sat up, jerking Kagome away and back to him with a soft noise that almost sounded like a feral growl. She plopped into his lap, no longer moving toward Yusuke, her attention back on the redhead as her hands tangled in his hair.

None of the three had realized the other's arrival, not until suddenly water came pouring down onto of Kagome and Kurama with a cry of "mare repleo", stopping them from returning to their previous actions. Arms came down and encircled Kagome, Sango and Shizuru dragging her from Kurama. She only struggled the slightest bit, her head muddled from the water that had been dumped on her.

The healer stormed up to them both, the blue color that covered her hands from her spell just beginning fade. "Now just _what_ do you two think you are doing?" Botan said, her voice taking on a mothering type quality as she stood scowling down at them, hands on her hips. "We have a job to do. And this—" She gestured wildly to both of them, but said no more. A deep blush had crept onto her face just thinking about it and she hadn't even been the one _doing_ anything.

It was an understatement to say Botan was displeased, but she kept her eyes on Kurama. For one, he'd probably provide a better explanation for what they had just seen, and two, she couldn't… no, she didn't _want_ to think of the incident as Kagome's fault, especially when she was _betrothed_, to the prince, no less. But then again Kurama… he'd always acted so gentlemanly. Perhaps the keyword there was "acted"?

Sango had much the same attitude, watching Kurama accusingly even if it had clearly been Kagome on top of him (though she couldn't help but wonder if the barely noticeable tint of pink to his face was just her imagination). Hiei was the opposite, glaring at the noble with a mixture of distaste and disgust, while the others didn't know _what_ to think.

Kurama lay on the ground, his breath coming quick and unevenly as he fought off the remains of whatever it had been that had took hold of him moments ago. He quickly saved face, however, and was trying to think of a way to explain what had happened… between them, without placing blame.

Finally, he spoke. "Kagome started acting… unlike herself and as soon as she touched me, I, like her, could not control myself." He half-lifted himself up on his arms and gestured to the half-eaten fruit on the ground a few feet away before plopping down again. "I believe it was the fruit that made us… act as we did."

"The fruit?" Kuwabara mused out loud, looking at the fruit by his feet. He bent down at the same time Kurama sat up fully.

"So, what? It's some kinda passion fruit?" Yusuke questioned, but no one answered.

"I would advise against touching it," Kurama warned when Kuwabara outstretched his hand, "since one touch from Kagome and I could not tear myself away from her." He then glanced at Miroku. "Nor do I think anyone of the opposite sex going near her would be a good idea."

Miroku paused in his steps and stopped before he reached the two sitting woman. Kagome didn't even seem to notice that she was drenched. Her eyes were unfocused, a longing still apparent in them and he didn't think she knew or was paying attention to anything any of them said, causing Miroku to ask, "why is she still affected and you aren't?"

"She ingested the fruit, while I did not," he explained.

Her desire-filled eyes found Kurama once more and even though he was not looking directly at her, her gaze was so intense he found himself looking away. Instead, he looked at Botan, standing a few feet away still. "Botan, could you…?"

He didn't even have to finish his sentence before Botan sprang into action with a sheepish exclamation of why she hadn't reacted sooner. She quickly retrieved some herbs from the small pouch she had, mixing the ingredients in water. She was nearly certain it would get the effects of the fruit out of her system. Normally it was used for poison, so she believed it would work the same in this case.

Once Kurama saw that Kagome had drunk whatever special mix the healer had made, he stood and excused himself, heading back to the cave where their belonging still sat. The others, feeling uncomfortable with the situation, trickled away one by one until only four were left by the tree that held the dangerously passionate fruit.

It was a slow process, but Kagome became more and more lucid until around a half-hour later, she was almost back to herself. How did they know? The deep blush that spread across her entire face was enough evidence that she was back to normal and remembering what it was she had done.

Miroku bent down in front of her, though she noticed he was careful to still not touch her at all. It made her wonder if there was a part of him that wanted to touch her a few minutes ago, knowing that he wouldn't get slap for his usual lecherous deeds, as was per usual. The look in his eyes though chased the slightly amusing thought away.

"Are you alright now?" Kagome nodded wordlessly to his question, trying to hide her blush with her hands, though she was terribly unsuccessful. "Good. I hope you know you can't do anything like that ever again." His face and voice were so stern and serious, so unlike him. Kagome then did something unlike herself as well, as she downcast her eyes and nodded.

Sango felt a bit shocked. Where was that fiery temper and stubbornness that she'd seen?

Botan came to Kagome defense. "It's not her fault. The fruit did it to her," she argued.

Miroku shook his head. Kagome could see the solemn way he held himself and knew he'd rather not have been the one to say such things, but they had to be said and he was the only one to do it. What was worse, she agreed with him.

"But it's her…job…" he said hesitantly, glancing at Sango for a moment. "…any woman's job to know when to control herself."

"That's something I never thought I'd hear come from your mouth," Sango said, raising an eyebrow. "You seem to me the type who'd be happy when a woman lost control like that over you."

While Sango expected a sly grin and that devious look in his eye, instead he shook his head. "It's not the same."

His action confused her. "Isn't it?" she replied.

Of course it wasn't, but she didn't know that. Sango was clueless to Kagome's status, as was most of the rest of her traveling companions. Botan understood, though she still didn't agree with him which was what prompt her to concur with Sango, saying, "you can't hold her responsible for what some kind of magic did to her."

Miroku massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "You're right, _I_ can't. And I don't, not really. But… _others_ could." _And last time I saw my cousin he wasn't exactly a fair tempered person._ "Kagome, who you are…" That was all he dared to say in front of a non-knowing person.

Kagome didn't want to hear anymore, not when she was already feeling guilty. She already had her conscience tearing her up about the subject, she didn't need Botan and Miroku to voice both sides already arguing in her mind. She also knew they'd rather have Sango gone for their conversation to take place. With those thoughts in mind, she turned her face to the fighter and said, "can you come with me back to camp? I don't want to go back by myself after…" Whoops, there was that blush again. She had a feeling that it would never go away. At least not for awhile.

Sango nodded and helped Kagome to her feet, though she really didn't need the help. In fact, it was really the other way around. Sango must have been tired from the massive healing that Botan had preformed on her the night before, though she looked in much better condition than she had a few days ago, thank the Goddess. She accepted the fighter's help, though supported Sango just as much as she did her as they walked.

Even leaving Miroku and Botan, Kagome couldn't escape the conversation as Sango pondered aloud, "I don't get why Miroku is coming down on you so hard. It's not the end of the world…" A not too happy smile graced her face. "Or perhaps he's just jealous it didn't happen to him. Out here he can't exactly have all the 'fun' he's used to."

Sango glanced at Kagome, hoping to see at least a small smile, only to see her shaking her head. "No… There's something you don't know. I… I'm…" she wavered, "betrothed." It hadn't been exactly what she really wanted to say, but it was the easier truth, rather than telling her the whole story.

"Betrothed?" Sango said, her voice full of astonishment as though she was unfamiliar with the word, but Kagome knew she understood. "…so is that… it's who you're doing this all for, isn't it?"

"Yes," Kagome replied softly, then more sternness, "and if you say 'how romantic' I might have to get violent." She was certainly joking; she wouldn't be able to take the fighter-for-hire anyway. "I'm not doing this for love."

"Oh," Sango replied. Her voice was rather flat, the astonishment lost. "An arranged marriage then? I don't envy you. That would have been my fate too, had I not… well, that doesn't matter. But it's what children are used for most of the time, so their parents can secure good business deals." There were traces of bitterness in her voice as she spoke. "But I bet you never questioned it once growing up, did you?" It sounded like a question, but it was really a statement. Kagome nodded, amazed by her precision. "Than the advice of someone older and wiser than you—don't give me that look, I am one _whole_ year older—" she teased, then grew serious, "for once in your life, do what you want Kagome, nothing more, nothing less." From Kagome's unsure look, Sango continued, "We're in a forest surrounded by bloodthirsty demon. No one knows if we'll make it through her alive, so who's going to blame you? …except maybe Miroku, but I'll deal with him."

She got the reaction she expected, Kagome smiling just the smallest bit. Sango was sure all was fine until the noble abruptly stopped, not moving any further. The red tint had returned to her face and the fighter knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"Can you… tell the others that we're going to be leaving?" Kagome inquired. "I…er… left my bag back there and I have to dump out all those fruits." Ah! Just the mention of them encouraged her flushed face!

Sango looked half-amused, half-concerned. "Kagome, you can't avoid him forever."

Kagome watched as she walked away and only left once she saw Sango disappear inside the cave. She then turned back to go get her bag while pondering what Sango had said.

Now that wasn't true. Not if she had anything to do with it.

* * *

She spent the day walking all the while avoiding Kurama. Even when they were attacked by a total of two demons, she stayed closer to Sango and Yusuke than anyone else. What else could she do? It was painfully obvious what she was doing too, but no one commented. She guessed they understood her embarrassment, though it didn't help that they knew, not to mention had _seen_ the two of them. 

Nor did Kurama go out of his way to try and talk to her. He didn't make any effort in fact. Oh Goddess, he must hate her now, or surely look down on her. She'd never been so humiliated in her entire life! And he must dislike her even more for embarrassing him in front of everyone else. She was certain they were becoming friends; now she wouldn't blame him if he never spoke to her again.

Nonetheless Kagome did notice she wasn't the only one acting oddly. Sango stayed out of Hiei's way for the whole day, not even arguing with him like she usually would do. Instead her mouth was firmly shut, lost in thoughts that clearly troubled her. Kagome only wished she knew what. Since Sango had awoken from unconsciousness she'd been acting strangely toward Hiei. First she seemed anxious to talk to him, then all the sudden she was avoiding him. …She really hoped it wasn't for the same reason she was avoiding Kurama. Gah! She didn't even want to think about it. That insolent, cold man with her caring (though spirited) friend? No way. Bad images. Very bad.

They ended the day earlier than usual after the second demon fight, both Sango and Botan too exhausted to go on much longer. Kagome was the first to settle, saying a quick goodnight without meeting anyone's eyes and went to bed. Of course, she didn't sleep. One by one she saw everyone fall into slumber around her, but for her it would not come.

That was when she was certain the entire world was against her.

Okay, not _really_. But still, she'd have rather been blissfully asleep instead of going over things in her head for the umpteenth time. The worst part about it was she knew _he_ was still awake, taking the first watch as always. He didn't call to her like he had done before and though she rather not admit it, that knowledge stung her. So that's how it was going to be from now on?

Part of her protested immensely, but she knew what had to be done. She sat up, letting the blanket fall from her before she stood. For a second she raised her eyes and as soon as they met emerald ones she glanced away, though she inclined her head slightly to the side. Then she went in the direction she had gestured toward, away from prying eyes and ears.

Kurama was only a few steps behind her, stopping once she turned around to face him. He said nothing, only watching her with what she thought was a curious gaze, waiting for her to speak.

She didn't meet his eyes. Instead she was very intent at looking at the tip of her footwear while her hands played with her mother's necklace. It was a nervous habit of hers.

She took a breath before beginning. "I… I just wanted to say sorry for what happened this morning. I didn't mean… and the fruit… it's no excuse though, and I'm really, really sorry about what happened. And I understand if you don't want to be near me anymore and, Goddess, I must have embarrassed you so much. And I understand if you want your dagger back because I really don't deser—" She was babbling, wasn't she? Yet she couldn't seem to stop.

"Kagome," he said, causing her to abruptly cut off. He looked amused as he paused for a moment, trying to sort out all the information he had received in less than thirty seconds. "Don't apologize. It was my fault."

She looked at him, astounded, especially when he pushed back the dagger in her hands as she tried to offer it back to him. She didn't even remember taking it from her side, but there it was in her hands. "What are you saying? You can't _actually_ think—"

He shook his head. "I should have known that the fruit had some magical property."

"But you couldn't have known! This is in no way your—" she flared.

"I should have stopped both of us. You had consumed it and were under its power, but I was not and should have fought it." Kagome, however, did not look pleased by his words. If anything, it was quite the opposite. He blinked in surprise. "You're angry with me. Why?"

"Because you won't accept my apology!" _And you keep cutting me off when I'm trying to say sorry_. She said her next words very firmly. "It was my fault and we both know it. For one, I should have listened to you and not eaten it, or at least stopped myself from… doing that." She knew her face most have been pink, she could feel the blood rush to her face and warm her cheeks. Not to mention she was sure he could see it even in the dark night. Soft laughter reached her ears and then she knew for certain. "And now you're laughing at me!"

He couldn't help the laughter that escaped him, which he regretted more when he realized he was making her angrier. Hurt flashed on her face, though he wasn't certain why. He did his best to calm her down. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at your expense. It's only I'm not used to women blushing on my account. It's quite endearing."

_Endearing?_ Her cheeks warmed further and she knew she must have been as crimson as Hiei's eyes. Okay, maybe not dark, but pretty darn red. To try and hide it (and failing), she cried, "and there you go apologizing again! Stop doing that!"

He retained his laughter this time, though he did let a smile grace his lips. Though he wasn't sure how appropriate it would be after all the… touching they had already done earlier, Kurama took her hand. She tried to pull it back almost as if she was afraid of his touch, but his grip was strong and he didn't let her. He then gave it a firm squeeze.

"Go to sleep, Kagome," he told her gently, letting go of her hand. "This day has been a long and very tiring one." A sudden half-smile that seemed too sly for him suddenly appeared. "For us especially."

Great, just as her face had been about to return to normal, the color rushed in. For that reason, she said a quick goodnight and brushed past him. He told himself he hadn't added the last part just to see her blush, but he wasn't sure if that was true. It _was_ true that there were some women that blushed around him, but with Kagome it was different. The women he was accustomed to were often trying to seduce him, those being the types of women that usual hung around with thieves, the King of Thieves especially. Kuronue was no help either, urging the women on, saying he needed a release (no pun intended). Kagome however was unique; she was innocent, pure. And unlike any other woman he'd met before.

This only served to trouble his thoughts. Kuronue had been right when he told him after Kagome had gone that he had wanted to go with her and her new friends. He had, which was why he had followed. But now he was wondering if his choice was reckless. Though her blushes amused him, just seeing them and how she reacted to him troubled Kurama. He had somehow let it go too far already. Yet just like that morning when he could not prevent his actions, he could not stop the spiral of events that would occur if he let it go too far.

He gazed upward and though the trees blocked his way, he knew the time was drawing near.

Yes, he really shouldn't have come.

* * *

**AN**: I quite enjoyed writing this chapter;o) But crap, am I going to have to change this to 'M' rating too? I'd rather not, but I'd like the readers' opinion on the matter. I mean, it wasn't _that_ graphic… 

For those who've forgotten, yes, Yukina is alive. She's working as a servant in the castle... Kagome's actually.

School is... eh, okay. Chemistry was evil, I took it last year... Physics is worse. Physics is **all **math. I. Hate. Math. But I finished French a year earlier than I should, so no more foreign language, woot! J'ai ete tres mavais en francais. Mais l'ecole est facille cette annee, beaucoup de...er, chapters? (If you have any idea what I said, well good for you, 'cause I'm not even sure:P)

Hmm, I'm taking into consideration once in awhile looking into the pasts of the characters, like I did with Hiei. Opinions?


	11. Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Alright, here's a summary of the last chapter(s) to refresh your memory. After an incident where Sango and Hiei fight a demon together, Sango discovers something surprising about Hiei. After confronting him, she finds out that he is in fact human (or so he told her), just has enhanced abilities that others don't. She asks if he has anything else hidden and he replies no, but she doesn't believe him. He then gives a tug to his bandana and lets it fall to the ground, revealing…? The next morning, Kagome, accompanied by Kurama, searches for food for the group. Instead they stumble across some sort of passion fruit… And that's all I'm going to say. Go skim the last chapter for more details on that.

Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**Lost City**

**Chapter Ten**

**

* * *

**

Sango was deeply troubled.

She couldn't believe it… could not believe what she had seen with her own eyes. But her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. No, what she saw was real.

Hiei was marked with the sign of the Goddess.

Not some painted on or cheap imitation in order to show his faithfulness to the Goddess—she could never imagine him doing anything like that. No, it was a _real_ sign as in, marked by the Goddess _herself._ Which, okay, she could probably wrap her head around the fact if she wanted to. The sign on his forehead, not too hard to comprehend—in theory.

What she couldn't understand was _why_.

She had been worried about Hiei being a danger to them, about him hurting the others, mainly Kagome… but he had the sign of the Goddess, meaning he was a vessel of Hers. Yet, he was also an assassin. A murderer. Being marked… it meant everything he did was in the name of the Her, that She watched over him. Yet he killed others. It did not make sense! …Or perhaps it was Her will? No, that couldn't be right. It couldn't. Sango would not allow herself to believe it.

No wonder he had not thought the demon's crystal would work on him. He was marked and he thought he would be able to withstand whatever power the light had over the others. But he had been very wrong, which became obvious when he had become paralyzed. So his power was not absolute… Good to know. She tucked that bit of information in for later.

The speed… the strength… and fire. They were his birthright, powers given to him because he was more than just a normal human. His telepathy though, it was a gift from the Goddess. But seeing the way Hiei reacted to it and what he had said after he had revealed the mark to her, the scorn in his voice… he did not like his gift. In fact, he seemed to hate it more than anything else. Although it could be an advantage to him, it was only useful after he touched someone. After that he could never stop hearing their thoughts. For someone who liked to keep to himself so much, it had to be a nightmare for people's thoughts to be intruding on him.

That explained his lack of loyalty, lack of faith in anything… or anyone. Why serve a being that gave him what he thought to be a curse? Which could explain his actions as a killer. What could he do to defy the one who bestowed the "gift" upon him? Destroy that which She created.

And yet… anytime he touched someone, a skin to skin touch, he would be able to see inside their mind and their most intimate thoughts. He said he could shield against their minds, but what if he had touched too many people, all their thoughts trying to intrude him at once? Even he, no matter how he could argue, would not be able to hold against the pressure of too many minds. His shields would collapse and they would all pour into his mind at once and stay there. It would be a maddening experience. That was why he never allowed anyone near him, never let anyone close, physically _or_ mentally. Since he was a child he probably never let anyone near. Kurama seemed to be the exception… but she could ponder that later.

She could not imagine what it would be like for her. To never let anyone near or touch her…

"What's that?"

Sango took herself out of her thoughts and turned toward the speaker, Kagome. Just as well, anyway. She was thinking too hard on the subject and was not paying enough attention to where she was going. She did not want to repeat what Kuwabara had done, tripping on some hidden root or stone and falling face first into the ground. However, she had a sinking feeling that it had nothing to do with the obstacles in the forest and everything to do with a certain assassin who had been close to her cousin when it happened…

Yusuke was the first to answer, indulging Kagome's question by asking, "what's what?" The quicker he knew what was wrong, the sooner they could move on.

Kagome's eyes searched the surrounding area, looking past the others that were around her and even seemed to look through them in her search, if it was possible. "I thought I heard…" she began somewhat uncertainly.

It sounded again, this time the others taking notice as well. It was a low mewling sound, though Kagome could not pinpoint the place of origin. Without thought she was down on one knee, looking at the bushes and trees in front of her where the sound seemed to come from. The third cry that reached her ears was more frantic, as though whatever creature it was knew that someone was in search of it.

A dark-furred paw swatting out from behind a tangle of roots caught Kagome's attention. She approached it slowly, kneeling beside the outstretched limb. The animal retracted the paw as Kagome settled down beside it. The roots and brush covered the creature and all she could see in the darkness were two small, golden eyes watching her from the inside. No sooner did their gazes meet that it reach out a paw once more, stretching it out as far as it could. This time it was toward Kagome and the creature was just able to tap the ends of her hair.

Gripping two of entwined roots, she pulled at them, but had little results. They were surprisingly strong, much stronger than she would have thought. She tugged once more, harder than before. Her arms shook and a small noise was forced out of her with the effort, but the roots did not budge.

"What are you…" Sango began. Kagome answered before she could even finish the question, replying with two simple words. "He's stuck."

The noble reached for her dagger and Sango tried again. "But, Kagome, look at how those roots are, it looks sort of like—"

"A cage," Hiei finished. Sango shot him an ungrateful look. She did not need to be interrupted twice.

_Then get to the point quicker, _was the sneered response in her mind. She kept her mouth shut and her mind as blank as possible, not dignifying him with the response she knew he wanted.

Kagome paid no heed to either of them, beginning to slice away the plant that kept the creature captive. "Don't be ridiculous, it's just a bunch of roots he got tangled in." Three of the roots were cut and she began working on a fourth. With the fourth done… "Ah, there we go. That should be enough."

She re-sheathed the blade before tilting her head to better look into the small prison. The creature huddled farther away from her on the other side, causing her to show her hands in an unthreatening way. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

"We'll see about that," Yusuke said from behind her. The noble did not bother glaring back at him, but instead elbowed him in the shin from her seat on the ground. To Kagome's delight, the creature poked its head out and slowly emerged. It began cower in front of the large group, but hardly had time before Botan scooped it up in her arms.

"Oh, look how adorable!" Botan proclaimed, cuddling the creature. Yusuke and Miroku exchanged withering looks as if to say, _'women_' and shook their heads simultaneously. Yusuke might have exchanged the look with Kuwabara had the tall softy not been occupied with the adorable animal as well.

Sango, herself, could not deny the creature was on the cute side. It—actually, she was more than positive it was a _he_ at this point—looked much like a brown bear cub and could not have been much older than a year. His torso was much longer than a bear's however, and his ears and muzzle were long, almost like a wolf's. His tail was also much longer and fluffier than it should have been were he truly a bear cub.

The cub squirmed in Botan's grasps, voicing his protests loud enough for it to make some of them worry if the sound would attract nearby demons. Botan loosened her grip and the cub escaped her by dropping from her arms, making his way shakily over Kagome. A smile lit her face as he nudged her knee with his head. She picked him up and pet the creature as he nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"Hiei," Kagome heard Kurama call, turning her attention to the smallest, but certainly not the least important member of their traveling group. He was a good distance apart from the rest and still moving farther away. Was he just going ahead or could he possibly be leaving for good?

Hiei did not turn back, but he did stop. "I don't have time for this."

Kagome's eyes met with Sango's for a moment and somehow knew what the fighter was thinking. None knew why it was the assassin joined the group, save for Kurama, though they were not even sure he knew the reason. Who was to know how long he would actually stay with them? He was a strong asset, if not their most powerful fighter. With his speed and strength… they needed him—even if he was nothing but spiteful toward Kagome and now Kuwabara.

Kagome sighed, knowing Hiei was right in his words. She got to her feet, though not before giving the creature one last scratch behind the ear. Not looking back, she began walking with the others, which caused her to be surprised and trip as the cub wound his way between her legs. She grabbed onto the nearest person—who happened to be Miroku—to keep her balance. The cub placed himself in front of her, looking up at her with big eyes and his tail wagging ever so slightly.

Her eyes went immediately to Miroku, a question in their brown depths. Although it was obvious what she was asking, all he told her was that it was her decision. Kurama, however, had a different opinion.

"I don't believe this is a good idea," the former thief informed Kagome as she picked up the whimpering cub. "Most creatures in this forest are demons, especially as you travel deeper…"

Kagome only looked at him for a moment as considered his words, then quickly averting her gaze. Even after they had cleared the air the night before, there was still an awkwardness between them… on her part at least. How could there not be after she…? It was embarrassing just to think about it!

Still, what Kurama said did make sense. The two of them were like her advisors since both were quite wise and willing to offer her their advice. One said yes, the other said no… well alright, Kurama said no and Miroku's answer was ambiguous, which was strange since it was usually the other way around. Kurama's answer was not even entirely a 'no' either, he was just cautious of the animal. Sure, it might or might not have been a demon, but not all demons were harmful. She knew that much from her own experience.

Biting her lip, Kagome set the creature down once more. "If the cub follows on his own, then I'm not going to stop him, but I won't take him along," she announced to no one in particular, but making good use out of her leadership role. She felt it was the best decision, while at the same time hoping that he would come. "And Miroku?" she added.

"Yes?"

"You can let go of me now," she told him as her eyebrow gave an involuntary twitch of annoyance.

Between the time she grabbed onto him to keep her balance and the present, his arm had wound its way around her, traveling dangerously low on her backside. As it began to slide even further down, she quickly spun around and gave him a sound slap on the cheek. He stumbled backward a few steps before a tree stopped his movement.

An unabashed smile graced his face as he rubbed his scolded cheek. "Old habits die hard."

"Things became a lot more dangerous for us girls when he decided to rejoin our group," Shizuru commented to Botan. The healer was unsure if she was kidding or not from her blank face, but knew nonetheless she was right. With all Miroku's woman chasing and limited women around, it would be a hard journey for those of the female persuasion.

Sango, standing in front of the pervert with her arms crossed, was not amused. He might as well have yelled at Kagome the day before with how much he disapproved of her actions, even as she was under the influence of a _spell_. Here he was now, acting as bad, if not worse than Kurama since Miroku _did_ have control over his actions. She could understand his disapproval because of Kagome's betrothal, but it did not make what he did alright.

She summed up everything she was thinking in one word. "Hypocrite."

The smile was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "There's a difference," he replied, his eyes harder than before, their usual charm twinkling out. What was it about this topic that brought such a serious side to him—a side most probably hardly seen—out? As far as she knew, Miroku and Kagome had first met only just before they had come across her. What did it matter to him what Kagome did?

Though the sudden change in him disturbed her as it did before, she did not drop her resolve. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, lecher," she said as she turned away. She did not want to hear his excuses.

Kagome stepped in front of Sango, causing her to stop. Facing both of them with her hands on her hips, she told them sternly, "no fighting. You're not here to fight."

Sango's eyes widened and before Kagome knew what was happening, she was being pushed down. They tumbled to the ground as a sharp thorn-looking object imbedded itself in a tree above them, barely missing the two as they fell.

Kagome tilted her head backward to see Kuwabara grunt as his sword clanged against a demon's side and Sango quickly got up to help her cousin. Kagome, however, did not bother getting up, instead her eyes stared up into the trees.

"Oh, _come on_, that's not what I meant."

* * *

The cub's eyes shone in the dark as he approached the young woman. Shizuru watched with suspicion as he nudged her knee expectantly, looking at her with innocent-appearing eyes. She shifted her position on the rock she was sitting on, her arms wrapping around her knees. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not picking you up," she told him flatly. It only made the creature whimpered and butt his head against her calf with urgency. 

Shizuru was not affected by the display, but Botan was sympathetic toward the cub. "Aw, show some compassion toward the poor thing."

"I'm still sorry the thing followed us," Shizuru replied. While no one had encouraged him, the cub had followed them on its own accord. She was surprised it had not just up and run when that demon had attacked. Even with the show of bravery, it did not make her like him anymore. She just had a bad feeling about him. Besides… "I'm not a fan of animals. I had enough trouble with that one." She jerked her head toward her brother, sitting next to her.

Botan hid her smile as Kuwabara exclaimed, "hey! I have you know that I am…" His indignant response was interrupted by a loud sneeze, but he managed to finish, "…not an animal."

"That's right," Sango agreed. Just before Kuwabara could thank her for her support, she added, "he just eats like one."

She expected him to sputter, but he retaliated quickly. "Maybe if your cooking was better than I wouldn't have to scarf it down so I don't taste it as much."

"You are lacking in cooking skills," Shizuru concurred.

Sango's jaw locked. "If you don't like it, don't eat it." She looked toward Shizuru. "Your snoring doesn't—"

"Alright _children_, let's stop the sibling/cousin wars before you jump down each other's throat," Botan clucked at them. Tensions were running high in the group, escalating higher as more time went on. Although fighting demons did release some of their frustrations, it did not change certain aversions some of them had with others. "We don't want to wake up the others."

Sango glanced at her peacefully sleeping traveling companions enviously. Yusuke had passed out almost as soon as night had fallen and they had set up camp. He seemed to be the most irritated among them when he did not get his sleep and before he could snap at anyone he went off to bed. Miroku and Kurama too had retired early since their night watches would be coming later, while Kagome had been complaining about a sore throat. Even after Botan gave her a sip of a healing potion, her throat still felt scratchy. Figuring sleep would be a good release from the constant soreness, she went right off to bed even though it was unusually for her to do so. Hiei was nowhere in sight, but that was per usual for him. Somewhere close by in the darkness he was lurking. Sleeping? Perhaps. Sango never knew with him.

Hearing a loud noise coming from the group of sleeping travelers, Sango muttered, "at least her snoring not as bad as Yusuke's." It was mostly said to herself as she glanced at the sleeping pickpocket.

Botan's attention turned back to the cub, still waiting patiently in front of Shizuru. It was obvious he was still waiting to be petted. "You should give him some credit, he did take out that demon earlier."

It was true. Almost as soon as the demon had attacked them, the cub had launched himself at the youkai, clamping down on its throat. It was one of their quicker battles. After that, no one could deny the small creature's usefulness and did not protest as it followed them faithfully all the way until nightfall.

With an annoyed sigh, Shizuru reached out her right hand and pet the cub along his back. His tail waved with delight and she went to stroke him once more, but almost immediately jerked back her hand.

"What's wrong?" Sango asked.

Shizuru shook her head, pushing her hair back from her face with the same hand. "Nothing. Just got a small shock." Whether it was unconscious or not, she moved away from the creature and wiped the hand against her pants. The cub did not seem to notice though as he scampered back to Botan.

He jumped onto her shoulder and she fell onto her back with a surprised cry. "Oomph, you're too heavy for that," the healer said with a laugh. He paid no heed as he fell over and nudged his head against her ear while his tail hit against her other one as it wagged.

Kuwabara, sitting next to Botan, ruined the moment as he let out a earth-moving, bellow of a sneeze, followed by another, and then another. Botan frowned, asking, "are you sick?"

He brushed the comment aside. "The Great Kuwabara doesn't get sick!"

"The sneezing says otherwise," Botan chided him. "Either you're ill or some scent around here is making you sneeze."

Botan picked up the cub and dropped him in Sango's lap (who commenting how _lovely_ it was when his tail repeatedly whacked her right in the face), while ushering Kuwabara over to where her bag was. He certainly did not mind the attention and gladly waited as she fished out the rest of the potion she had made early.

Not needing to see her cousin flirt, Sango ushered the cub off her and got up then to scout out the area a bit. There was little sign of anything unusual in the area and no sign of Hiei—not that she was looking for him she assured herself—so she made a quick visit to the latrine before going back to the others. By that time the rest had settled down and she stayed awake to keep lookout, snacking on the last piece of bread from her dinner.

Not too long after did she wake up Kuwabara to take the watch. It was before her turn should have been over, but her eyes were itchy and watery, making it hard to see. It was the cub's fault, no doubt. He had probably gotten some fur into her eyes when he had been waving his tail about. She did not think Kuwabara believed her, but being the gentleman he was, he took over anyway. Giving her thanks, she lay where he had been sleeping since the ground was warmed by his body heat. She threw one last glare at the cub, who was still wide awake and seemed to meet her eyes. Then a moment later she closed her eyes so she would have to see no more.

* * *

"_I don't see why I have to learn how to ride," the six-year-old protested. Her riding teacher picked her up anyway and placed her on top of a pony that in her opinion was much too big for her. _

"_Because all nobles should learn how to ride properly," he retorted. His face was not clear to her, yet everything else about him was in perfect clarity. His hands as they picked her up, his dirtied clothes, his tone of voice. Even the field around them was crystal clear, yet something felt wrong about the setting._

"_If I'm learning 'properly' then why am I sitting sideways?" she replied haughtily, crossing her arms. This turned out to be a bad idea, however, as she almost fell off the pony. Only the teacher steadying her kept her from such a fate._

"_This is how a proper lady sits."_

"_But this isn't how daddy rides," the young girl informed him. She began to move one leg on the other side of the saddle, but he stopped her. He shook his head, sending his long hair in front of his eyes—black hair, that he pushed aside. "The lords and ladies ride differently." _

"_Then maybe I won't ride like a lady," she announced, her stubborn streak showing. She instinctively crossed her arms once more and began to lose her balance on the edge of the animal. Her small arms wobbled, looking for something to hold onto, but her teacher merely stepped back and she instead fell to the ground with a loud thud. _

_With all the dignity she could muster, the six-year-old stood back up, not even bothering to wipe the dirt from her._

"_I will _not_ ride like a lady."_

"_I'm sorry Lady Kagome, but the prince gave specific orders to have you only ride sidesaddle," the hostler informed her. He looked uncomfortable standing in the small stall with the matured young lady, more so since she refused to move to let him out._

"_I'm sure he did," she muttered to herself. Then louder, "but I've never ridden like that and I won't start now. I don't even know _how_. So if you please—"_

"_Sorry m'lady but I can't go against an order." His voice held a plea in it, hoping she would not force him to. The prince was not a pleasant person when he was angry, she had heard. Luckily she had not experienced it yet. Then again, she had hardly seen him at all. _

_A long sigh escaped her. "Fine, I'll do it myself," she said, though it was more to herself than the stableman. She took a normal saddle off the wall and settled it on the strange horse, doing her best to strap it on well. Never before had she actually had to do it herself. It was always done for her by the time she planned on going riding._

_When it seemed secure enough, she led the stallion outside where the gloomy daylight awaited them._

"_I'd be back soon, m'lady. It looks like rain."_

* * *

She hated dreaming of the past. More times than not, it was not pleasant. Lucky for her, she was awoken before anymore of her memories could play out. However, when she figured out why she had woken up, she would have preferred the dream. Her companions were already awake, talking all at once. No not talking. Arguing and yelling was more like it. 

"…suppose to know how…"

"Let's just focus at the problem at hand," Miroku's voice cut in.

"Focusing on _anything_ would be nice right about now." That most definitely had to be Sango with that small hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Kagome stood quickly, letting her cloak pool at her feet. The voices began to blend into each other as everyone was trying to be heard at once.

"What's going on?" she tried to say, but nothing happened.

She froze in her movements. Her mouth had moved, but no sound emerged from it. Her eyes widened and she tried to say something, anything. Not a word, not a single syllable or even a fraction of a sound came. A scream built in her throat and she sucked in a large breath, but as she tried to make a sound nothing came out. Her lips moved frantically and finally she had to let out the air in order to breathe.

Why could she not speak? Sure, her throat had hurt before, but that should not have stopped her from making even the smallest sound. She was completely stripped of all speech. She took in a few breaths to try to calm herself as she felt panic continue to rise in her, anxiety clutching at her chest.

She hurried to the closest person, Yusuke, and began tugging urgently on his sleeve. He jerked his clothes out of her grip unconsciously without even looking at her, too consumed with the conversation. "How the hell did this happen?" he questioned.

"Well, if we knew that it'd be a lot easier to fix, now wouldn't it?" Sango replied dryly. She was looking at Yusuke, but there was an oddness to her gaze. "I had enough 'fun' with this the first time, I don't need to experience this all over again."

Kagome was tugging on Yusuke's arm once more while Miroku reasoned, "we're all still able to move, at least that's better than the last incident."

"That makes me feel _much_ better."

"What?" Botan asked, her voice much louder than it needed to be. She was nearly screaming as she looked from one person to another. "What I want to know is—" Kuwabara clamped his hand over her mouth, muffling the rest of her words.

"Whoever did that, thank you," Sango said, gazing in the general direction of the stifled healer.

Kagome moved from tugging his sleeve to tapping Yusuke, but was continually ignored. Finally, she stomped on his foot, violently grabbing his attention. A small yell came from him and he spun around to face her. "What the hell was that for?"

She began to try an explain, but of course nothing happened as her lips moved uselessly. She shut her mouth and tapped her throat repeatedly, trying desperately to explain with gestures.

"What? I can't hear you." She rolled her eyes at him and slammed her heel into his toes once again, annoyed. "Ow, damnit woman! What do you want from me? I can't hear a damn word you're saying!"

Miroku took her by the shoulders and moved her back, knowing that she very well might have tried to crush his foot for a third time. "She's trying to tell you she can't speak," Miroku told him.

Kagome tilted her head backward to look up at him, attempting to say "thank you" but only ended up mouthing it instead. He got her meaning anyway and smiled in return as he let her go.

While mouthing the words she wanted to speak could work, she doubted that many of them were any good in lip reading. Neither was there any paper she could write on, let alone something to write with. Then how could she communicate? Gestures would not get her far and she could not just keep silent; how would she know what was going on without asking?

In an attempt to communicate while at the same time trying to figure out what was going on, the noble grabbed Yusuke's hand and began spelling frantically into it. However, she was doing so too swiftly for Yusuke to catch anything of what she said.

"Woah, slow down," he told her. She let out an annoyed sigh and spelt one word painfully slow into his hand, as though communicating with a small child. His reaction made it worth it. "What! Useless? I'm _not_ useless!"

Silent laughter escaped her as a smile lit her face, though worry hid behind her eyes. It was obvious she could not use Yusuke as a translating tool, but who would be able to understand swiftly? She was about to turn to look for someone else to 'talk' to, when suddenly a hand was placed in front of her, palm facing upward. Her eyes followed the hand to the person's arm and up their body until they reached the person's face. Kurama.

She daintily clasped his wrist with one hand while the other etched two words lightly into his palm using her index finger. "_What happened?"_ she asked. She kept her eyes fixated on his hand as she wrote.

"Sango has somehow been blinded," Kurama reported to her. Turning her attention to Sango, Kagome saw her looking toward them, but her gaze was odd as it was before. Kagome had sensed something was wrong before, but could not pinpoint what. Although her eyes were open there was no focus to them, none of their usual spark. They were dull and lifeless as she turned to follow just the sound of the person talking. "Botan woke up this morning deaf." That would explain the overly loud talking. She had no idea what the volume of her voice was. "Now you are mute as well. We're not sure what caused any of this yet."

"It's obvious this was done unnaturally. Did you three eat or drink something strange?" Miroku inquired of them. Along those lines, Kuwabara decided to chip in by adding, "yeah, like that passion fruit Kagome ate. Only this stole your senses… or something."

The comment was not appreciated by Kagome. _Could we please stop bringing that up?_ Kagome thought as a light blush crept up her face. Realizing that she was still holding onto Kurama's hand, she dropped it quickly and kept her gaze away from his. Even being so close to him made her nervous.

Since Sango had the easier time talking and could actually hear the conversation going on, she was the one to answer Miroku. "Nothing that the rest of you didn't have as well. At least, I didn't." Kagome nodded in agreement even though Sango could not see it. Only Botan did not answer since she was rightfully clueless and was incapable of talking with Kuwabara's hand still muting her.

"So have Botan work some of her healing powers. Problem solved," Yusuke announced.

"It's not that simple," Sango responded at the same time that Kagome captured Kurama's wrist. "_No work, at night, sore," _she wrote swiftly. Kurama made sense out of the hastily written, seemingly illogical words with the help of his memories from the night before. Speaking for Kagome, he said, "I'm afraid it won't work. Last night Botan attempted to cure Kagome's sore throat with no results. This will not be so easily cured."

"Besides, if she could cure it, she would have cured herself by now," Sango reasoned.

"I wouldn't put it past her."

Even if she hadn't recognized the voice, Sango would have known it was him if only because of the insult the words implied. She smiled to herself. "So Hiei is still around. I was beginning to wonder."

Kurama felt himself smiled also. "Surprisingly, yes." Kagome gave a tug on his arm to grab his attention before communicating through her fingertips. Relaying the message to the others, Kurama asked as he looked around at the others, "was anyone else affected?"

There was a short silence before Shizuru spoke. "…I can't feel anything." Yusuke joked by saying, "that seems normal to me," but his comment did not faze her at all. She continued, "I wasn't sure before. I can't _feel_ anything." She looked down at her hand as her nails bit into her skin. "There's no… _sensation_. I don't feel hot or cold. There's no sense of touch." Her nails dug in harder, yet there was nothing still. No tiny shocks of pain, nothing at all.

Miroku put a hand on her upper arm as a signal for her to stop before she accidentally hurt herself. However, she did not sense the touch and only when he placed his hand over hers did she realize what she was doing and stop.

"Sight, hearing, speaking, touch…" Kurama spoke aloud as he thought.

"Has anyone, by chance, lost their sense of smell?" Miroku asked, catching Kurama's drift.

"Kuwabara," Sango said suddenly a questioning lilt to her voice. Out of habit alone Sango turned her head to try and pinpoint where he was. When he said, "here" she turned in his way and stated more than asked, "you're not sneezing anymore."

Yusuke added to it, "Hey, Kuwabara, can you smell anything?" when he did not catch on right away.

He seemed to think about it for awhile. Twice he opened his mouth to talk and twice he closed it again. Finally he took in a deep breath and… "…I don't know."

"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" Yusuke exclaimed. "You either can or can't."

"There's nothing here to smell, so how do I know if I can smell anything or not? Answer me that!" Kuwabara yelled triumphantly, seeing no flaw in his logic.

"Idiot," Hiei said.

Yusuke threw up his arms and walked away. "I give up, someone else deal with him."

Miroku walked a bit away from the group to Botan's bag. He grabbed from it a smaller bag of some odd-looking plant and took a small whiff of the contents. His face contorted with displeasure as he closed the bag and handed Kuwabara the plant. Unfortunately, he had the mistake of letting go of Botan as he took it.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" Botan shouted, though unintentionally. "And why do you have my herbs?"

"How does the idiot expect us to tell her when she can't hear a word," Hiei retorted.

Using her hand to guide her, Sango sat down on the ground and glanced at where she heard Hiei's voice. "Oh, I could think of a way for _you_, Hiei."

_I'll slice your throat before you say any more, woman, _was the threatening response in her mind. It was not his choice to open the telepathic link between the two, but—even though he did like to frustrate her with snide remarks—he was the one to initiate communicate with her telepathically, otherwise she never would have known about it, even if he heard her thoughts. He had done it to save their lives, granted, but it was still his choice. On top of that, he had explained things to her, not thoroughly, but it was a lot considering it was Hiei.

_I have a name, _was all she responded.

Meanwhile, Kuwabara tried to regain control of the healer once more, but she fought him off. Finally Shizuru made Botan look at her by clasping her chin and mouthed the word "later" to her. Kuwabara then smelt some of Botan's herbs, or at least tried to. He could not smell anything, just as Sango had predicted. That left Botan deaf, Sango blind, Kagome speechless, Shizuru numb to any touch, and Kuwabara unable to smell anything. Out of nine people, five were now handicapped.

"That's all five senses… but why?" Miroku asked.

Before anyone could answer—though Shizuru was sure no one knew the answer to the open-ended question—she interrupted to announce, "is it just me, or am I the only one that noticed the cub is gone?"

There was a long silence where no one spoke or moved. "But that doesn't mean…" Kuwabara began, but his voice trailed off.

"He was overly attached to the group until now," Kurama countered, "which is unusually for a demon. For him to mysteriously disappear at the same time this problem developed…."

While it had not been stated that the cub was a demon before, no one doubted Kurama's words. However, Sango was curious and suspicious enough to ask. "I thought you didn't know if he was or not."

"I wasn't sure before. I am now."

"But how do you know now?" she began to ask, but when she was interrupted in her mind, her words abruptly stopped mid-sentence. _Enough questions_, Hiei snapped.

_What are you hiding?_ She meant to think it to herself, but he of course heard it. _What secrets are you protecting?_

_You'll live longer if you don't ask so many questions_. Even if his words were menacing, she still felt that pleasant tingle as his words brushed against her mind. It kept her less annoyed than she might normally have been. _Is that another threat from you?_ Sango inquired. No answer came.

Kagome was more focused on what she just learned. That cub had disappeared at the same time she and the others had been handicapped. He couldn't possibly have… but why? There was no reason for the demon cub to steal such things from them.

Shizuru tucked her hair behind her ear. "I had a bad feeling about him."

"Oh, you had a bad _feeling_. That's solid evidence right there," came Yusuke's sarcastic remark.

"Her bad feeling are usually right," Sango commented while Kuwabara nodded, adding, "she seems to always know when something's about to go wrong."

"So we think it's the demon's fault. What do we do, go after him?" Shizuru questioned. "We don't even know which direction he went."

As the conversation went on Kagome became more and more panicked that she could not talk. So many times did she want to join in, add a comment here or there, explain something, but before she could even begin to communicate someone else was speaking. Kagome did not even have time to begin spelling and she felt more and more closed in upon herself. Not for the first time during this journey, she began to feel very, very alone and isolated.

She had no voice, no say. She was ignored as the conversation proceeded, much as Botan was. Without a voice… she might as well not have been there. What did she have to contribute? She could not fight and now she could not lead them. Had she become the useless one?

Kagome did not even realize she was clutching Kurama's arm so tightly to her until he gazed down at her, saying her name tenderly to try and gain her attention. She hastily let go of him, but Kurama took hold of her wrist before she could get too far. He tilted her chin upward so her eyes met his, his soothing emerald eyes filled with comfort. "Kagome, what is it that you want to do?"

Kurama felt a mental brush against his mind and let down a small portion of his shield to let Hiei's words through. _Why do you leave the decisions to her?_ the assassin snapped. _She'll just bring us to disaster._

_I think you should place more faith in her_, Kurama reasoned.

_She's shown no worth in her meaningless life. _Kurama hardly heard the words as he concentrated instead on Kagome as she communicated.

"_Go after cub_," Kagome decided. They would not get far with half of them disabled, some more than others. If the demon cub was the key, they needed to find him.

With the decision made, the group grabbed their belongings and got ready to start on their daily trek. While Miroku took the noble's bag since it was his turn to carry it, Kagome took the liberty of explaining the situation to Botan via her new form of communication. Besides Kurama or Miroku, she was the only one with the patience to do so anyway. It was a long explanation, but she managed to finish just as they began to take off.

Her attention immediately turned to Sango, who was stumbling even as she stood and walked a few steps. That was Sango, an independent woman and fighter. She would not dream of asking for help, even though it was more than obvious that she needed it and was necessary that she have it.

Kagome quickly caught up with her, catching her left hand with her right and guiding her way. Sango's hair spun around her as she turned the noble's way. "Who's that?" Unable to say, she squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Kagome?" Bringing the fighter's hand up to her head, Kagome gave a sharp nod.

She guided her blinded friend as they walked, making sure she did not stumble into any bushes or trees and watched out for declining slopes. Sango did manage to trip a few times understandably, but Kagome was always able to steady her. She only had to make Sango come to a complete stop once when Kuwabara had tackled Yusuke to the ground in front of them. Yusuke had said something along the lines of, "all the girls lost one of their senses, and there's you you. Now what does that say about you?" which Kuwabara did not find as funny as the pickpocket did.

Some more time passed as Kagome felt more and more guilty. Needing to relieve herself of some of it, she took Sango's hand and spelt letters slowly onto it. "_Sorry_."

"Sorry?" Sango inquired, puzzled. "Sorry about what?"

"_Cub. My fault._"

"Don't worry about it. If it hadn't been you, I'm sure Botan or Kuwabara would have freed him too." It was a small comfort and she was sure that it was only for her benefit, but it was enough to make Kagome drop the subject.

There was a short silence before Sango spoke softly. "Kagome?" Another silence followed until Sango continued.

"Thanks... for the help."

* * *

Night came all too quickly for Kagome, especially because of the late start they had. They went about their normal routine with minimal conversation that Kagome and Botan, usually the most talkative, remained quiet for. Kurama caught a strange animal for dinner that he assured them was edible. He and Shizuru cooked it for the nine of them after Yusuke and Miroku gathered firewood that Hiei sparked the fire on. 

Kagome ate her small portion of food and moved off to the side, away from her companions. She settled on the ground with her back facing them, attempting to sleep, much earlier than she ever had before. For her own reasons, she felt apart from the group more than ever and more than that, she did not want to join them that night. She heard Kuwabara call her name, but she did not turn around.

"She's probably asleep," Yusuke replied with a shrug.

One by one, the noble heard and saw each of her traveling companions lay down for sleep. She stayed awake all throughout the first watch and even as Miroku doused the fire and woke Yusuke up for his turn. It grew even darker then, making her increasing nervous as her wide eyes stared into the brush in front of her.

She almost drifted off once, but when Kagome heard a rustling in the trees around her, she immediately shot up. Her heart pounded in her chest as her eyes darted around, glancing at the trees in the dark.

"Are you alright?"

She expected to see Yusuke as she turned around, but instead Kurama was there, leaning back against a tree. She must have slept longer than she had thought.

Realizing that she was staring, she gave a small nod as her heart steadied its pace. He did not take his eyes off her, however, knowing her words were not sincere. He did not say anymore nor did he gesture to her, but even so she found herself moving to kneel in front of Kurama.

Kagome clutched her cloak around her tightly as she stared down at the ground. She hated this. She felt secluded from the others, all alone in her bubble of silence. What if something attacked them, especially if it was during the night? She could not alert the others or yell if she got in trouble. That thought alone made it hard for her to sleep and kept her frightened. But at the same time it was her fault if it was really the cub that had done this to them. She had no right to complain since she had brought it upon herself.

Without a word, he offered her his hand just as he did before. She tried to convey her feelings to him, but all it was was a jumble of words that she was not sure if he understood any of or not.

He caught her hand to stop the incoherent writing. "Kagome, it's alright. Just try and get some sleep." She must have looked skeptical because Kurama added, "Kagome, look at me." She glanced up to meet his eyes. For the first time Kagome noticed that he was in an unusual position for him. His knees were drawn up to his chest, one arm wrapped tightly around his legs. His whole body was tense and was he… shaking? She thought she had seen his hands trembling before as they stopped for the night, but she had disregarded that almost immediately since he had stopped a few moments later. The thoughts were gone once again when he continued. "I'll keep you safe."

She felt her face warm considerably at his words, but still felt unnerved with the idea of sleeping. When she did not make any sort of movement, his arm suddenly wrapped around her and brought her to him. She squirmed and would have made noises of protest if she could as he positioned her between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her torso, forcing her to lie back against his chest and stopping her wriggling. Her blush worsened, but at least now he could not see it.

"Rest." His voice was so very close to her ear as she felt herself release some of her stiffness. "I'll look after you. I promise."

She should not have for so many reasons. What would Miroku or any of them say if they woke up and saw her like this? For once, she didn't care. She felt more secure in that moment than she had since she had woken up mute.

He took hold of her cloak and settled it on top of her as Kagome released all of her tension, melting against the thief holding her. She felt safe, not to mention warm in his embrace. Kagome was sure he was doing it just to get her to calm down… but part of her wanted to believe he did it just as much for himself. Yet his body was absolutely taut, which made her doubt it.

She was just drifting off to sleep when she felt something tremble against her side. Kagome frowned and reached for his hand. "" she asked.

He clasped her hand in his to stop her from saying anymore. "It's nothing you need to worry about," he murmured to her. He meant to let go of her then, but as his hand continued to shake, she held on tighter, refusing to let go.

More time passed and a sleeping Kagome snuggled in closer to Kurama, while he remained painfully awake. He tried to keep his body strict in order to keep it from quivering, but the pressure became too much. He felt his gut wrench and his back arched against the trunk behind him as pain washed over him.

A blur of black entered his vision as Hiei dropped to the ground in front of him, drawing his attention away for a relieving moment. The assassin glanced down at Kagome with disdain, but said nothing as he looked at Kurama, completely ignoring Kagome's existence.

"You can't deny what you are," Hiei told him.

Kurama's eyes hardened considerably. "That's amusing coming from you," he retorted, his voice harsh.

He didn't sound like himself, in his words or his tone, causing Hiei to smirk and reply, "hn, it's already started. You're strong, but you can't hold out all night."

Kurama glanced up as pain ran through him again, his gaze trained on the full moon above them, just escaping the concealment of the trees. Denying what he was…? No, he had never bothered with that, but he had hoped that he could hold out just a little longer…

With careful attention, Kurama moved Kagome off him and placed her gently on the floor where she shivered at the loss of body heat. Even as he stood, Kagome's hand was still clutching his, not relinquishing its hold even in her sleep. But as he moved away, her hand slipped from his, falling gently onto the ground.

* * *

_AN: Well, that was my (edit: second)longest chapter yet. Mostly just interactions/talking to set up for next chapter._

_Edit II: Ah, in all my hastiness to get this chapter out since it's been forever since I posted, I forgot the most important thing! Thank you so much to all the lovely reviewers who inspire me to continue to write! If you haven't figured it out already, I am not at all confident in my writing so to have such wonderful and helpful reviewers is truly amazing, and I thank you all! Thank you also to anyone out there reading this story! I hope you are enjoying it!_


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